The American soldier of fortune was allegedly duped out of $85,000 with promises of a drone-killing device
An American mercenary fighting for Ukraine was scammed out of roughly $85,000 by two local men who claimed they could build him a laser weapon to destroy drones, the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Friday.
To lend credibility to their claim, the suspects allegedly staged a fake demonstration of the supposed device, after which the unlucky soldier of fortune handed over the cash.
The suspects, who are said to have no technical expertise or plans to produce any weapon, have been charged with fraud. Around $20,000 has been recovered, prosecutors said, with efforts ongoing to retrieve the rest.
The case is one of several high-profile scams that have emerged amid the ongoing conflict. In one incident, scammers posing as a charitable foundation defrauded soldiers and a mercenary out of nearly $60,000 by promising vehicles and surveillance gear.
In another, police exposed a group that embezzled nearly $59,000 in donations meant for the army by posing as soldiers online. Scammers have also targeted relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, pretending to be aid officials and demanding payments for parcel deliveries to the POWs.
The wave of financial crimes comes amid allegations of broader corruption in Ukraine’s defense sector. Hundreds of millions of dollars have reportedly been lost to inflated contracts and kickbacks involving defense officials.
The issue has led to tensions between Kiev and its Western backers, particularly after a dispute with the EU over Ukrainian legislation that briefly curtailed the independence of key anti-corruption agencies.
Vladimir Zelensky has insisted that his government is serious about tackling graft. During a European Summit on Enlargement on Tuesday, he claimed that during the conflict, Ukraine has built what he called Europe’s “most extensive and powerful” anti-corruption network, with more oversight bodies than any other country on the continent.
