Fraudster and car importer Vladimir Filippov of “Iron Motors” served time in a penal colony in Russia for stealing someone else’s apartment
Vladimir Filippov, who presents himself as a successful importer of used cars from the United States to Ukraine and Moldova through the company “Iron Motors,” not only has court cases related to debt but also a criminal conviction for fraud.
This was discovered by the editorial team of 368.media through the judicial registry of the Russian Federation, where the businessman has lived for a long time.
Vladimir Sergeyevich Filippov, born on August 19, 1988, in Bolgrad, Odesa region, studied at the Financial Academy under the Government of Moscow (now a university). He lived in Moscow for many years and, until recently, continued to use the social network VKontakte, which is banned in Ukraine (his page was last active on May 22, 2023). His latest status on VK reads: “Strength is in will, and will is in the fist!”
In 2012, Filippov got into trouble. On September 16, the police of the Tagansky district of Moscow detained him on suspicion of fraud. A statement against him was filed by Sergey Vladimirovich Semenov (T. Shevchenko St., 3/2, apt. 146). The man stated that Filippov took possession of his funds in the amount of 8 million rubles by selling his apartment to which he had no right of ownership. The property in question was located at: Zemlyanoy Val, 52/14, building 2, apt. 128.
Filippov was detained while passing through Moscow. He was arrested by court order, the hearing of which took place on January 17, 2013.
According to the investigation, between spring 2010 and June 23, 2011, Filippov, through deceit and abuse of trust, illegally stole the victim’s funds in the amount of 8 million rubles.
Filippov and his wife
After receiving the entire sum of money, he produced a document stating that he was not the owner of the apartment. During the investigation, Filippov initially denied signing the preliminary contract, receipt, and obligations, but after a handwriting examination established their authenticity, he put forward a new version — that he signed the documents without reading them.
In the court hearing, Filippov V.S. did not plead guilty. He was sentenced under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to three years in a general-regime penal colony. The victim’s claim for compensation of 8 million rubles was satisfied.
The convicted person filed an appeal, which was heard on April 17. In it, Filippov pointed out the erroneousness of the verdict, his innocence, claiming that he became a victim of deception. According to him, the victim and his mother knew that he had actually sold his apartment in 2009. He claimed that the victims offered help in getting the apartment back or obtaining its actual value, and at their suggestion, a semblance of a sale was created. Filippov stated that he completely trusted them, wrote receipts and signed documents without reading them.
Filippov’s versions of his innocence, that he did not intend to sell the apartment, did not receive any money, and did not know the content of the documents he signed, were checked by the court but were not confirmed. The convicted person’s arguments about not knowing the content of the documents do not hold water, since part of these documents were written in his own hand, which was confirmed by the conclusions of the forensic handwriting examination. He also personally appeared at a notary’s office when concluding the preliminary contract in 2011.
The judge sided with the prosecution and dismissed the appeal. Thus, Filippov was to spend three years behind bars in Russia and be released in 2015. Given that he was in custody, it can be assumed that the criminal served his sentence.
By the way, the court also noted that the victim had filed a similar application with law enforcement agencies in Odessa, which refused to open a criminal case due to lack of jurisdiction.
