A prosecutor in Karaganda has requested six years and eight months in prison, with a one-year deferral, for a businesswoman accused of defrauding more than 500 people, according to infohub.kz.
Citing KTK television channel, the woman promised to deliver goods from China at low prices and collected about one billion tenge from clients.
A resident of Akmola Region took orders and advance payments via messaging apps from customers across the country. She offered household goods, clothing, and cars, advertised her services through bloggers, and displayed a wealthy lifestyle.
According to the channel, only the first clients received their goods. The rest have been waiting for their orders for a second year.
"People agreed because they were told beautiful things, they were lied to well. All sorts of ads, for example, for buying cars. They bought ads from other people, didn't supply the cars themselves. And thereby gained people's trust, and transferred all the sums. 'The last spot on the car carrier is left, hurry up, please, make your purchase,'" said victim Anastasia Semenova.
The businesswoman and her manager are under house arrest. According to KTK, the former has seven children, the latter a young child.
The victims asked for both defendants to be sentenced to 10 years each and ordered to return the money. The prosecutor requested a sentence of six years and eight months with a one-year deferral.
At the October 12 hearing, the businesswoman asked to be acquitted. She explained the failure to deliver by overestimating her capabilities and said she could repay clients if free.
"As a supplier, I failed to fulfill my obligations. There were too many people, so delivery times increased. I overestimated my abilities and couldn't deliver the goods. I ask for a chance to make refunds to people," the defendant said.