Paying your electricity and water bill and finding yourself in debt to a quick loan company. It sounds incredible, but for 15 people from the town of Bulgarovo this is a fact.
82-year-old Ruska is one of the 15 victims of the financial fraudster Oksana. The woman had been paying her household bills at an office in the town of Bulgarovo for about a year, when in December 2024 she realized that she was in debt to a quick loan company, without having drawn one. "I had my grandson call this company. And he tells me: "Grandma, you have drawn two loans". One of them was three or four months ago and was for 700 leva. It was paid off.. In September, another loan was taken out in my name - for 1,500 leva, which became 2,000 leva with interest. The moment they told me, I was about to faint," says the victim Ruska Pavlova.
For many of the residents of Bulgarovo, who live on minimal means or a paltry pension, the news of the financial fraud is a shock. "I don't know what made her do this. I'm so angry with her," says the elderly woman.
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Oksana's youngest victim is 25-year-old Denitsa. One sunny morning, the young mother also wakes up in debt with interest. "I have a small child. I look after him. I have no other income besides motherhood. And suddenly one day they come and tell me that I have a loan. How can I feel... I'm offended, bitter. I had some respect for this woman and she kind of made fun of me. I didn't expect it," said Denitsa Doychinova.
According to her, the loan in her name is 1,000 leva without interest. "I don't know how much it is with interest. Nothing has been returned. She promised within a week, then promised by the end of the month, then said two months. No one knows how long it will take her and whether she will ever pay it back," the young woman points out.
Days after the fraud, Denitsa remembers that she went to pay the monthly children's kitchen. She also provided her ID card. Upon inspection, it was later found that the money had not been deposited into the kitchen's account, but into a fake company. "Misuse of personal data, forged signature. She constantly finds different excuses - she needed them for her husband, she needed them for her daughter because she was studying. Every day she comes up with a new excuse and no one really knows what she did with them", says Denitsa.
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Abuse was also committed on behalf of Martin. "I paid my phone bill. They asked for my ID card. And now the quick loans called, only 2 thousand leva. I have nowhere to get them", Martin Koychev is categorical.
We find Oksana at her home. She also plays the role of a victim. "They tricked me. I'm sorry. I apologize to everyone. I will fix everything, I will prove that I did not do it alone", said Oksana Karakasheva.
"At the moment there is no evidence of the participation of other persons in the crime committed", said Prosecutor Shtilyan Dimitrov from the Burgas District Prosecutor's Office.
Oksana has been charged, which threatens her with up to 6 years in prison. "That is, it is possible that the fraud is classic, it is possible that it also concerns document fraud, which is more severely punishable. The investigation continues. More witnesses are to be questioned, graphic examinations are to be carried out to confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents presented," explained Prosecutor Dimitrov.
The victims can seek their rights in court, to declare the contracts concluded with financial companies by Oksana null and void.