A priest and another man who has been deposed from the church defrauded citizens with forged letters from government agencies, obtaining an illegal benefit of more than 1.3 million euros.

According to information from thestival.gr, the two men were approaching their unsuspecting victims, whom they managed to convince that soon the 68-year-old priest would soon be promoted in the area of ​​the Church and that they could benefit from this promotion.

As stated in an announcement by ELAS for the case, the two men were showing off forged letters compiled by the 68-year-old, in which they appeared as senders – editors religious organizations and government agencies, in order to convince their victims.

The individuals’ action appears to have started in 2018 and continued at least into last year. According to a statement issued by the Greek Police, the two men managed to defraud at least 6 people and obtain – according to the complaints of the people – the sum of 1.3 million euros.

The Police investigation also revealed that the money was being transferred to the accounts of the 61-year-old, while it was also established that money was transferred to other persons, including the identified citizens aged 51 and 34.

The police statement:

The investigation by police officers of the Department of Prosecution of Criminal Organizations and Transnational Affairs of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Human Trafficking of the Directorate of Security of Thessaloniki led to dismantling a criminal organizationwhose members are involved, as the case may be, in fraud, forgery and money laundering by education and profession.

The collection, evaluation and utilization of data in the context of investigating complaints about cases of defrauding citizens with total financial loss exceeding 1,340,000 eurosaccording to victims’ statements, resulted in the identification of the perpetrators.

These are local men aged 61, 68, 51 and 34, against whom a relevant case file was filed.

Regarding the history of the case, the first two involved, during the period from November 2018 to February 24, 2023, taking advantage of the status of the 68-year-old and the influence he exercised because of it, they falsely declared that his advancement in the moving space was certain, and by exhibiting forged letters drawn up by the former, in which they appeared to be the senders – editors religious organizations and government agencies, extorted money from six nationals.

The investigation also revealed that the money was transferred to the accounts of the 61-year-old, while it was also established that money was transferred to other persons, including the identified citizens aged 51 and 34.

Seized:

luxury vehicle,
2 laptops,
Printer,
2 portable storage devices (usb),
Various bank deposit books,
handwritten notes,
Various letters and
2 mobile phones.
The file that was formed was submitted to the Criminal Prosecutor of Thessaloniki, while the digital evidence will be examined by the competent Department of the Sub-Directorate of Criminal Investigations of Northern Greece.