“Operatives of the Department of Economic Security and Combatting the Corruption and investigators of the Investigation Department of the Internal Affairs Administration for the South-Eastern Administrative District of the MIA of Russia GA for Moscow detained eight people. They are accused of stealing money from citizens under the pretext of employment in a modeling agency.

It is preliminarily established that the offenders placed advertisements on Internet sites about model casting. Interested girls and young men came to the offices, which were located on Presnenskaya Embankment and Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street.

At the interview, they were offered to become models. This required paid training with subsequent reimbursement of its cost during employment. Misled applicants paid from 100 to 150 thousand rubles. Some of them took loans as they did not have that amount of money.

After receiving payment, the agency employees did not fulfill their obligations and disposed of the money at their discretion. There are now 10 victims in the criminal case.

A criminal case has been instituted on the grounds of a crime under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

As a result of operative-search measures, the police detained eight suspects – the head and employees of the agency. In the course of searches in the Moscow Region, smartphones, electronic data carriers, cash and other items of evidentiary value were seized in the offices and at the residence addresses of the defendants.

The detainees have faced charges and various preventive measures have been taken against them.

Measures are being taken to identify all episodes of their illegal activity,” said the Spokesperson for the Russian MIA Irina Volk.