Moscow Court Upholds Conviction of William Demchog in 1.8 Million-Ruble Phone Fraud

Overview

• Moscow City Court on October 28 rejected appeals and left the verdict and sentence against William Demchog in place.
• Demchog participated in the hearing by video link from a detention center, and his father, actor Vadim Demchog, was present in court.
• Case materials state he assisted phone scammers who took 1.8 million rubles from an 82-year-old, including a February 2024 episode involving a 490,000-ruble card that he cashed and forwarded.
• The defense sought a non-custodial sentence, said the loss was fully repaid, argued only about 400,000 rubles passed through him, and submitted character references from the detention facility and bank records of donations.
• The prosecutor opposed any change, describing the punishment as humane and saying there were no grounds to overturn the ruling.