Siberian auto fraud ring involving family nets $76,000

In Novosibirsk, police have detained 12 suspected auto insurance fraudsters who, according to investigators, staged at least 17 accidents and received insurance payouts totaling 6.8 million rubles ($76,000). The fraud team included two organizers, two expert appraisers, and most of the family of one of the group«s leaders: his young wife, her father, and younger sister. NGS learned the names of the alleged fraudsters, studied their biographies, and found out why at least some of the suspects consider themselves victims of circumstances.

Vladislav P.«s Eleven Accomplices

On Friday evening, January 30, a message was published on the Telegram channel of the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Irina Volk, about the detention of nine suspects who, according to investigators, staged a whole series of fake traffic accidents over six months. Even by preliminary estimates, the company managed to earn a six-figure sum during this time, which law-abiding Novosibirsk drivers will have to cover: OSAGO (compulsory auto liability insurance) this year will cost Novosibirsk residents 35% more than last year.

«Police have established 17 episodes of unlawful activity by the individuals involved, committed from June 2024 to January of this year. The preliminary damage amounts to about 6.8 million rubles,» Irina Volk reported.

The organizers did not complicate the scheme and did not even risk staging classic car crash setups. Instead, according to the MVD representative, they staged accidents and entered data of their acquaintances into them, then filed European accident reports without calling traffic police to the scene. The paperwork was handed over to affiliated appraisers who conducted inspection reports exactly as the individuals wanted, so they could receive the necessary payouts.

«[Cars damaged during the stagings] were repaired by the accomplices themselves in a specially equipped garage and resold on the secondary market,» Irina Volk wrote.

Employees of the investigative department of the MVD Directorate for Novosibirsk opened a criminal case under Article 159.5 of the Russian Criminal Code; by January 30, one of the organizers of the fraud series had already been arrested, according to the prosecutor«s office.

«The criminals operated in Novosibirsk from June 2024 to January 2025. During the investigative activities, 29 bank cards, 16 phones, and laptops were discovered and seized. The Central District Court has chosen detention for two months as a preventive measure for one of the organizers of the crimes,» the prosecutor«s office of Novosibirsk Region commented on the high-profile case.

According to an NGS source, by the time official statements were published, police had detained three more suspected fraudsters. Eleven of the twelve individuals were eventually released home a few hours later — investigators found no grounds for the strictest preventive measure. Among them were two appraisers who distorted information about damages in fake accidents in inspection reports, as well as family members of the arrested organizer, Vladislav P. As an NGS source told, the guy dragged his own wife, father-in-law, and wife«s younger sister into the case.

Family Affairs and More

According to investigators, the scheme was devised by two young men: 26-year-old Vladislav P. (it was he whom the Central District Court arrested) and his friend, 27-year-old native of Kaliningrad Daniil B. On the internet, he preferred to introduce himself as Daniil Dobronravov and had already come to the attention of law enforcement.

At the end of July 2025, Daniil B. or his full namesake was spotted during a joint raid by Novosibirsk prosecutors and traffic police officers as an illegal vendor selling car air conditioner refrigerant right on the road. Upon discovering that law enforcement had a number of questions for him, and moreover — that he was being filmed by journalists from the OTS TV channel, the young man was not at all embarrassed and willingly explained right on camera that his goods were good, and most importantly — cheap, and no complaints from buyers had arisen so far.

How exactly the young man was punished could not be learned from the colleagues« report. NGS sent a request to the prosecutor»s office of Novosibirsk Region to find out the results of that raid.

Probably, the organizers of the fraud attracted accomplices each from their own circle. Daniil, according to an NGS source, lived for a long time in Altai Krai, after which Aleksandr V. from Barnaul and Alena B. from Zarinsk appeared on the list of alleged fraudsters. Vladislav, meanwhile, pulled his own family into the business. As accomplices of the guy, according to an NGS source, are his wife Kristina P., father-in-law Andrei S., and Kristina«s younger sister, 23-year-old Elizaveta S.

Trying to contact Vladislav P. by the time of preparing the material was already useless: for at least the next two months he will be behind bars. Contacting Daniil B., although he is at large, also failed: the young man«s phone was switched off. A journalist wrote to him in a messenger saying she wanted to know his view on the criminal case. If he replies, the publication will be updated.

However, Andrei S., who, like his daughters, was released after several hours of investigative actions, spoke with NGS. The Novosibirsk resident complained that both he and both his daughters ended up under investigation due to basic trust in a relative. According to the man, he could not have imagined that Vladislav would set them up like that.

«[What Vladislav does], I certainly didn»t know exactly, but I guessed,« Andrei S. said. »I didn«t work with him, didn»t earn anything from this. He«s just a relative, he registered cars in my name. I didn»t even know why, I thought he was dealing with cars. I didn«t even ask. I wasn»t aware [of the scheme details], and my daughters also didn«t earn anything [from the insurance fraud].»

Whether Vladislav P. really dragged his relatives into the case to avoid looking for nominal car owners on the side, or the «family business» was conducted fully consciously, is now for investigators to determine. But two other alleged fraudsters, appraisers Nazar T. and Ivan K., must have known exactly what they were doing.

Both men«s lives before detention were extremely prosperous and law-abiding. On social networks, neither expert published professional content. Nazar T. posted photos with his wife and children on vacation, Ivan K. — photos from amateur hockey matches and views of the nature of Novosibirsk Region, which he traveled through with his wife. Both did not want to talk to the journalist.

Nazar T. answered the phone, but upon hearing that the journalist wanted to know his opinion on the criminal case, sharply stated he had no time and ended the call. Ivan K.«s phone was completely switched off.

If any of the 12 people whom police suspect of a series of insurance frauds wants to voice their point of view, NGS will publish it.

Where the Appraisers Worked

Productive searches, reported by both police and supervisory agency employees, took place not only in the homes of the alleged fraudsters but also at the workplace of at least one of them.

According to an NGS source, Ivan K. worked at the company LLC «SAS 54». According to the Rusprofile service, the company has been operating in Novosibirsk in the field of risk and damage assessment since 2007. The sole owner of «SAS 54» is Viktor Konovalov, and it is managed by Pavel Bayandin. As of the end of 2024 (reporting for 2025 has not yet been published), the company earned 20 million rubles ($222,000) and made a net profit of 3.3 million rubles ($36,700).

The phone at the company office was unavailable. To confirm whether searches really took place there and whether the company«s reputation was threatened due to employees, the journalist contacted the director of »SAS 54«, Pavel Bayandin. But he stated he was not ready to comment on what was happening.

«We, of course, knew nothing [about the experts» activities]. While the investigation is ongoing, we will not comment on anything,« he said briefly.

The scheme described above is not the only classic fraud in auto insurance. Law-abiding motorists suffer twice from the car crash setup variant: they have to pay more for insurance and repair their cars.