In Lviv, a former lawyer was uncovered who, while in prison, fraudulently seized the property of a deceased person.
According to the investigation, a 50-year-old Lviv resident, serving a sentence for document fraud, unlawfully took possession of someone else’s apartment. Fully aware that the apartment owner died in 2021 and had no heirs, the man forged a gift deed for the property. The fake document stated that allegedly in 2007, the woman gifted this real estate to the suspect.
Subsequently, this agreement served as a basis for entering data into the state register of immovable property rights and registering ownership for the disputed property by the applicant. Since the man himself is in prison, he involved an acquaintance, unaware of the forgery, to submit the documents to the state registrar.
Thus, the former lawyer acquired a 2-room apartment in the Zalyznychnyi district of Lviv. According to current legislation, this property, due to the absence of heirs, should have been considered escheat and transferred to community ownership.
Under the procedural guidance of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the man was notified of suspicion of fraud (part 4 of article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Currently, he is serving a sentence in a correctional facility for another episode of fraud – as a lawyer, he forged a judge’s ruling in one of Lviv’s courts. This subsequently allowed his client to return goods and a car, which were to be confiscated due to customs violations. Based on this verdict, his right to practice law was revoked in 2017.
Pre-trial investigation – Main Directorate of the National Police in the Lviv region.
Note: According to article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until proven guilty in a legal manner and established by a court sentence.