An unemployed woman from Nizhny Novgorod tried to steal maternity capital.

      26 December 2025 18:36 Incidents

      A jobless woman from Nizhny Novgorod who had been deprived of parental rights attempted to steal maternity capital, the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the region reported.

      The fraud was discovered by investigators of the Avtozavodskoye Investigative Department of the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod.

      It turned out that a 57-year-old woman, previously deprived of parental rights and without official income, applied to a credit‑consumer cooperative requesting a loan. The Nizhny Novgorod resident voluntarily agreed to participate in a housing selection program required to obtain the funds.

      An employee of the organization, unaware of the client’s criminal intentions, concluded a contract with her. On its basis the perpetrator was issued a loan of 561,000 rubles allegedly for the purchase of a residential house.

      In fact, the suspect provided false information about the purchase of real estate in order to obtain maternity capital funds belonging to the Pension Fund of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region. Thus, she committed the theft of state funds.

      A criminal case has been opened against the woman under Part 3 of Article 159.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — fraud in obtaining payments. The article’s penalty provides for punishment of up to six years’ imprisonment.

      Police remind: maternity capital funds may be used only within the limits established by law. Legal uses include improving housing conditions, children’s education, forming a funded pension for one of the parents, purchasing goods and services for the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, as well as monthly payments for a child up to three years old.

      Earlier it was reported that a fraudster from Moscow registered fictitious children in various regions of Russia, including Nizhny Novgorod, in order to receive payments.

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