The Akçakale Republic Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared an indictment in which 3 defendants are accused of creating fear and concern in order to make teachers send money to them, and up to 578 years of imprisonment is demanded for them, while up to 15 years of imprisonment is demanded for the other 30 defendants. The indictment was accepted by Şanlıurfa 6th Heavy Penal Court.
The indictment detailed the methods of telephone fraud, including the phone call records and images of the defendants with the victims. It was stated that the defendants obtained information about newly appointed or contract teachers working in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, and then called the victims, pretending to be police officers, prosecutors, or other public officials, claiming to be conducting a secret investigation.
The indictment revealed that the ringleader, known as “atıcı,” obtained the identity information and photos from the phones of some individuals and compiled them into sexually explicit montages, threatening to publish them online. This instilled fear and anxiety in the victims, prompting them to send money to the defendants’ bank accounts, thus enabling the fraudulent activities.
It was reported in the indictment that the defendants defrauded 32 victims of 4 million 396 thousand Turkish liras, as they operated within a certain division of labor, calling the victims through foreign nationals’ GSM lines. The defendants selected female teachers who were newly appointed to their profession and working as candidates in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions as their targets and used various scare tactics to manipulate them into sending money.
The indictment revealed, “The suspects, Mustafa C, Mehmet C, and Casım Y, selected female teachers who were newly appointed to their profession and working in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, through the personal information obtained from phone records, and convinced these teachers that they uncovered their personal information and were in danger due to the actions of others.” The defendants employed various methods to deceive the victims into believing their claims and ultimately convinced them to send money to the designated accounts.
The indictment requested up to 578 years of imprisonment for the detained defendants Mehmet C, Mustafa C, and Casım Y, who were identified as the “atıcı”, on charges of “aggravated fraud”, “blackmail”, and “unlawful acquisition of personal data”. Additionally, up to 15 years of imprisonment was demanded for the remaining 30 defendants on charges of “aggravated fraud”. The elaborate scheme and manipulation tactics employed by the defendants illustrated the severity of the crimes committed, leading to the prosecutor seeking harsh penalties for their actions.
