Lithuanian court receives case of large-scale online fraud scheme

A Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has referred a criminal case to court involving a large-scale online fraud scheme, with charges including deception, unauthorised use of electronic data, and misuse of payment instruments, BNS reports.

The Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office has separated the case of a 2001-born suspect—previously part of a broader investigation—after he evaded authorities and was later apprehended under a European Arrest Warrant. A court has ordered his detention.

Investigators allege the accused, acting with a group of accomplices, posted false advertisements on social media and classified platforms, offering non-existent goods such as car parts, household appliances, and construction tools. Fake services, including loans and expedited driver’s licence acquisition, were also promoted. Victims transferred money to specified bank accounts but received neither goods nor services.

The scheme reportedly involved over 200 offences, with fraudulent accounts opened under others’ names, including in foreign banks. Illegally obtained funds were laundered or used for purchases. Victims lost sums ranging from €10 to over €800.

Under Lithuanian criminal law, such offences carry potential prison sentences of up to six years. The case has been forwarded to the Panevėžys District Court, with a request to merge it with the earlier referred broader investigation.

The pre-trial investigation was led by Prosecutor Liudmila Paulienė of the Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office, with support from the Klaipėda County Chief Police Commissariat’s Criminal Police Property Crime Investigation Board.