The investigation showed that a 74-year-old man and his 59-year-old accomplice claimed to be weapons engineers and convinced the U.S. volunteer — who is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine — that they could create a laser system capable of destroying enemy drones and missiles.
To make their story more convincing, the suspects even staged a demonstration of the supposed “laser installation,” prosecutors said.
After this, the volunteer transferred over 3.2 million UAH (about $85k) to them.
“In reality, the men had neither the technology nor the intention to manufacture any weapon,” the Prosecutor General’s Office stated.
Prosecutors from the Obolon District Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv have charged the two men under Part 5, Article 190 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code — fraud committed by a group of individuals in wartime.
The victim is a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian origin — a volunteer and founder of a military training school who has served in Ukraine’s Armed Forces since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Prosecutors said $20k has already been returned, and efforts to recover the remaining funds are ongoing.