Prosecutor’s Office: An American volunteer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was promised “laser weapons” for $85,000.

Two residents of Kyiv deceived an American serviceman, swindling over $85,000 for fictitious “laser” weapons.

The Kyiv police charged a 74-year-old Kyiv resident and his accomplice with fraud. They promised the American volunteer to manufacture a “laser weapon” capable of blinding or downing drones, but in reality, they had neither the technology nor the intention to create it.

In July 2023, the suspects presented themselves as heads of a weapons manufacturing company and convinced the American volunteer that they could produce an innovative device. To support their claims, they showcased a fake test where the gadget supposedly burned through a drone wing from several meters away. Through this deceit, they extracted over 3.2 million UAH from the volunteer.

The victim is a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian descent, a volunteer, and founder of a military training school, who has been voluntarily serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the onset of the full-scale invasion. At present, he has been partially reimbursed $20,000, and law enforcement continues to work on recovering the full amount.

The suspects were charged with fraud committed under martial law conditions. This case is part of a series of fraudulent operations that have increased during the war in Ukraine. Earlier, on October 6, the Security Service of Ukraine documented the arrest of residents of Zaporizhzhia, who sold humanitarian aid, including FPV drones.