Broker sentenced after fraud leaves victim facing €220,000 debt

LRT reported that repeat fraud offender and real estate broker Mindaugas Taraškevičius has been sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding more than 20 people and misappropriating about €1.67 million. He admitted his guilt in court, but the judgment has been appealed.

One of his victims, Renata Spiridovič, says she is now being pursued for about €220,000 after allowing Taraškevičius to use her bank accounts and payment cards. Her home has been put up for auction, and she is seeking help from LRT’s audience reporting service, “LRT girdi.”

Spiridovič has been ordered in civil proceedings to repay money transferred to her account by seven people who paid for transactions that never took place. The funds were then taken by Taraškevičius.

Although the criminal case established that Taraškevičius misappropriated the money, the courts ruled that Spiridovič had failed to act with sufficient care. She had lent him €52,000 in cash and, while aware that his accounts had been seized, allowed him to use her accounts and payment cards.

The courts said the other victims were not responsible for how Spiridovič used the money transferred to her, including whether she passed it on to Taraškevičius. They also noted that her bachelor’s degree in accounting should have helped her understand the risks of allowing another person to use her accounts and cards.

Spiridovič says she was herself deceived by the broker. She had known Taraškevičius since 2019, when she and her former husband wanted to sell property. The couple began dealing with him as a friend, and she says he had previously borrowed money from her former husband without causing any problems.

Her marriage ended in late 2022, after which she sought medical help for poor psychological health. She also acknowledges that she was abusing alcohol at the time. She attributes her decision to trust Taraškevičius so heavily to that difficult period.

In February 2023, Taraškevičius asked her to lend him €52,000 in cash for three days. Spiridovič says she considered him a reliable broker who had helped her family and friends with property sales.

She says €123,000 has been awarded to her from Taraškevičius, but she considers the chances of recovering the money to be small. Even if her home is sold, she is likely to remain in debt while supporting her two sons, aged 16 and seven.