Fake surgery scam: Odesa draft dodgers busted

A traumatologist, two residents of Odesa, and the head of the security group of one of the Odesa military recruitment center organized an illegal scheme to earn money from those wishing to avoid mobilization, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said.

"They were looking for men liable for military service, and after performing fictitious operations on their knee joints, they provided medical certificates necessary for unhindered passage of the military medical commission. Later, with the assistance of the serviceman and based on the medical documents received, the men were to receive deferrals from military service," the PGO said in a statement on Wednesday.

The cost of such "services" started at $4,000, and one of the operations was to cost $7,000, but it was stopped in time by law enforcement officers.

In addition, a serviceman, the head of the security group of one military recruitment center in Odesa, acting in collusion with one of the suspects, sold fictitious summonses to a conscript for UAH 15,000 a conscript for summons to the military recruitment center.

"Such a document allowed him to avoid checks of military registration documents and safely move around the city for a certain period of time. Later, he even made a "discount" - each subsequent summons cost UAH 1,000 less," the PGO said.

In total, law enforcement officers documented the fact of his sale of seven summonses for a total amount of over UAH 70,000.

All those involved in the case were detained under Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and preventive measures were imposed on them.

The full range of persons involved in the crime is currently being identified, as well as citizens who used illegal "services."