A guilty verdict has been handed down in Kazakhstan's capital to a man who posed as a car dealership employee and stole more than 600 million tenge from ten individuals, infohub.kz reports.
The verdict was issued by the Interdistrict Criminal Court of Astana against defendant D. He was charged with large-scale fraud across ten separate counts.
The court found that from October 2024 to March 2025, D., leveraging his experience in car transactions and presenting himself as a dealership manager, committed fraudulent acts against citizens.
"Under the pretext of profitable car sales or exchanges, as well as purchases with subsequent payment, D. gained the victims' trust and provided them with knowingly false information about the existence of buyers and the possibility of concluding lucrative deals. The victims, misled, transferred ownership of their expensive cars through a mobile banking app to individuals designated by D. Once able to dispose of the vehicles, he sold them to third parties, exchanged them, or handed them over to settle his own debts," the court's statement said.
It is noted that D. also stole money from car buyers, received as payment for vehicles that did not actually belong to him or had been obtained through criminal means.
As a result, ten victims suffered material damage on an especially large scale, totaling more than 600 million tenge. In sentencing, the court considered the defendant's minor child as a mitigating circumstance.
For the cumulative offenses, D. was sentenced to 8 years in prison, with his actions recognized as dangerous recidivism. The victims' civil claims were satisfied.