Case against fraudsters who promised serviceman 'laser weapon' sent to court
Kyiv police investigators have completed their investigation into perpetrators who defrauded a serviceman after promising to develop a "laser weapon" to intercept UAVs and ballistic missiles.
"Police have now completed the pre-trial investigation and sent the indictment to court. The accused face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property for the crime committed," the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv said on its website Tuesday.
In November 2025, investigators from Obolon district police together with SBU officers exposed a Kyiv resident and an Ivano-Frankivsk resident who fraudulently misappropriated more than UAH 3.2 million from a serviceman.
"In July 2023, the suspects made contact with the serviceman. Presenting themselves as heads of a weapons and ammunition manufacturing enterprise, they claimed to possess cutting-edge technologies. In particular, they assured him they had three experimental laser devices capable of blinding enemy equipment at distances of up to five kilometers. To finally convince the victim, the offenders organized a personal meeting where they demonstrated specially prepared mock-ups of ‘weapons of the future.’ They promised to manufacture a ‘laser device’ worth $85,000 for the serviceman’s needs, which they claimed could destroy UAVs and ballistic missiles. Trusting the ‘developers,’ the man handed over a prepayment of UAH 3.2 million," the Kyiv police communications department said.
After more than two years of waiting, the serviceman never received the promised equipment, and the suspects misappropriated the funds and spent them on personal needs. Investigators then served both offenders with suspicion notices under part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, on an especially large scale, under martial law).
In November, the Kyiv city prosecutor’s office reported serving suspicion notices on two men who defrauded an American volunteer serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine with promises to create laser weapons allegedly capable of shooting down drones and even ballistic missiles. A 74-year-old Kyiv resident and his 59-year-old accomplice presented themselves as heads of a private enterprise specializing in the manufacture and sale of weapons. "They told the AFU serviceman they were testing laser devices capable of ‘blinding’ enemy drones and offered to manufacture such a device for $85,000," the statement said.
To make their offer convincing, the developers demonstrated a device that allegedly burned through a Shahed wing from a distance of around 8 meters. They received more than UAH 3.2 million from the serviceman in installments, but the man never saw the promised cutting-edge development.
"The victim in the case is a US citizen of Ukrainian origin, a volunteer and founder of a military training school in Ukraine. He has been voluntarily serving in the AFU ranks since the first days of the Russian invasion," the statement stressed.
At that stage of the investigation, $20,000 had already been reimbursed to the serviceman, and measures were being taken to return the full amount to him.
