Funeral Credit (I): Hundreds of thousands of interest-free loans that have ruined people’s lives

However, according to data collected by the Financial Crime Investigation Service, from February 2009 to June 2013, V. Jokimas lent a total of 1 million to almost 100 people. 146 thousand euros

After a long and complicated investigation, he was charged with fraudulent accounting and illegal business activities because he did not have any permission to lend money.

“I did not do any prohibited business,” V. Jokimas denied his guilt in court and stated that the only source of his income was the activity of a translator and a teacher.

Borrowed not to steal

He explained that he had loaned tens or hundreds of thousands of euros to friends and acquaintances to protect the money from the kidnapping. Supposedly he didn’t ask people for any interest and he didn’t earn a dime, so to say he was doing business illegally doesn’t make sense. He repeated the same when interacting with 15 minutes.

“My savings were in jeopardy,” said Jokimas. – In 2010 I entered a psychiatric hospital. They accused me of hurting! By abusing psychiatry, they tried to seize my money. “

“It is also not safe to keep the money in the banks, as many of them have already filed for bankruptcy,” he continued. “And the services are inciting people and neighbors against me, someone can break into my house and steal everything.”

Although Jokim himself presented himself as a person who only financially helped others with a good heart, his debtors told a slightly different story.

Some who borrowed money but did not pay it back on time were forced to give double the money through bailiffs or courts, and some lost their apartments or houses and simply stayed on the street. And the amounts paid for the loan services, based on the testimony of witnesses and judicial material, are likely to be equal to the interests of fast credit companies.

He built his grandmother’s house.

The parents, whose daughter borrowed 31,858 euros from her in 2009, informed FNTT officials about V. Jokimas. Taking a loan, he mortgaged a house inherited from his grandmother in Kaunas with a piece of land and several buildings.

The parents found out about the debt just a couple of years later, when they returned home and found bail papers and a note stating almost 100,000. LTL amount and 0.5 percent. amount of interest for one day.

“I tried to ask my daughter why she was building her grandmother’s house and she just said she needed money. “He couldn’t explain why he needed such an amount,” the girl’s father told the court.

He alluded to the fact that his daughter had been using drugs for many years and was addicted to them. It seems that the girl was not even going to pay the loan, and the burden fell on her parents’ shoulders.

“I think Jokimas took advantage of this state,” the man in court said, reporting the situation to FNTT.

Although Jokimas himself claims that he does not make a profit on the loans granted, only in this case did he earn double what he lent. Along with interest and late interest, he recovered € 71,169 through bailiffs.

“I cannot be prosecuted for receiving compensation for a timely failure to fulfill an obligation,” Jokimas himself said in court.

Jokim argued that their problems began after the alleged slander of these parents by the police. He even wrote a statement about defamation, but the pre-trial investigation was rejected.

However, in the girl’s father’s opinion, V. Jokimas used not only his daughter, but also many other vulnerable or life-affected people.

“I think V. Jokimas also manipulates other people, gives them loans, takes interest and does not pay taxes,” he said in court.

The biggest mistake

“I made the biggest mistake of my life by signing a contract with V. Jokimas,” another witness told the court.

He said he was in debt to fast credit companies and was looking for someone to refinance his debts at lower interest rates.

An acquaintance brought her with V. Jokimas. The woman invited me to her home. After inspecting the property, he said he could borrow $ 20,000. LTL.

“That’s all I need,” said the woman then. Soon V. Jokimas explained that in the contract he will still have to specify an amount twice as high: 40 thousand. LTL.

The indebted woman trusted her husband’s promises and went to the notary with her husband.

“After a while, we sat at a big table and they gave me to sign various documents: a loan and a mortgage agreement, I wrote everything in a book presented by a notary,” he said. “At the same time, V. Jokimo’s mother, who was just walking at the time, participated, brought her in by a handyman.”

After signing the contract, V. Jokimas took out of his backpack and donated LTL 19,900. The woman immediately paid 875 LTL of this amount to the notary for services, and gave the same credit institution 2,125 LTL, which was interest for half a year.

“Then V. Jokimo’s mother wrote on the fifth page of the loan agreement:” I received 2,125 litas. J.G. – 04/06/2013 “. He explained how to write this text in a notebook filed by a notary. After leaving the notary’s office, we were also told that we had to give my mother LTL 500 for mediation,” said the woman.

Her story sadly ended. The woman was eventually evicted from her home, her account confiscated. Although that day he received just over 15 thousand from V. Jokimas. After a few years, the bailiffs recovered 44,000 LTL. LTL (around 13 thousand euros).

“She made a deal not with me, but with my mother,” V. Jokimas said in court about this settlement. – Your explanations that you did not receive such sums degrade my mother’s memory. She lies in revenge because of the recovery. “

Due to her daughter’s illness – scammers

“It was only after all that I realized that I had fallen into the scam traps,” testified another V. Jokimo joker, D.B., who needed money when his daughter became ill.

Drugs were expensive, so he found an ad in the newspaper about a person lending money. The next day he went to a company, where the man called and invited Jokoka.

“I asked him to borrow 2,000 litas, but he offered me 6,000, he said, without borrowing less,” he recalled at the first meeting.

We went to a notary, to whom I immediately had to give 300 litas for the loans. V.Jokimas ordered him to pay 400 litas, this is interest for two months.

“I asked the notary to ask V. Jokimas to give him his account number, he would transfer the interest there. But he did not agree, the woman recalled. – Every two months he paid interest, 400 litas each. We met at Garliava, a stop at the church. I paid interest honestly for almost 3 years. “

6 thousand A woman who borrowed LTL 19,000 gave a total of LTL 19,000 to V. Jokokimas. LTL.

“He wrote a date and a signature on the brochure each time, but did not write the amount,” he said. – I asked him why he doesn’t record the amount, but just writes that the contract is extended. She explained that neither he nor she needed it, because they both knew that the money had been given away. “

But in that, as he said 15 minutes Debtors interviewed, V. Jokimas was then able to use it successfully. Although the money was allegedly repaid, he eventually went to court demanding recovery of the debt because the trusted individuals did not sign any documents confirming the repayment of the loan.

Witnesses persuaded to speak differently

Although not a single debtor testified in court that they had no problems and no one asked for interest, such testimony can be questioned.

Some witnesses spoke like that in court a few years ago today 15 minutes He admitted that he had given a favorable testimony to V. Jokimimas because he had asked for it. Others still in the courtroom revealed a lie to FNTT investigators.

“I told officials that I was not paying any interest because Jokim asked me to,” said a witness in court. “He called, said he was in trouble, and asked not to tell anyone about the interest.”

The woman, who found the ad in Kauno Diena, agreed with V. Jokimas at 70,000. Litas Loans. She mortgaged the apartment and agreed to pay 1.8 percent. interest, he paid them for 7 months before paying the debt.

Another debtor faced a similar situation when he was contacted by the police and lied to officials.

“I lied, I was afraid that V. Jokimas would not take me to court for paying the debt, so I gave him useful evidence,” he admitted in court.

Borrowed 60 thousand. agreed with 4 percent. interest and as soon as he received the money, he gave away 7,200 LTL, which is interest for the next three months.

“I borrowed money to start a business, but it failed. After that, the boy became ill and had to be transported to Vilnius every week to transfuse blood. I spent 600 litas a week on medicine. Therefore, I did not pay the debt, “he said.

Finally, V. Jokimas requested the judicial agents to recover the debt, 0.5 percent was calculated. default interest.

According to the debtor’s calculations, he paid interest of 103 thousand in just a few years. LTL.

Jokim himself called such testimonies slander and revenge, because the debtors were unable to return the money on time and are now trying to save.

Double banknotes

Another favorite method of V.Jokimas is double the bills of exchange. The witness said that his company needed money for its operations and that the banks refused to lend.

“He lent me 40 thousand litas. I received that amount. But he ordered two bills to be signed,” recalled the woman. One was signed by herself, the other by her husband.

“There was no other option, so we signed both bills of exchange, each of which indicated 40 thousand litas,” she said.

He returned to Jokokimas as much as he had borrowed, but the other bill was turned over to bailiffs.

“I did not argue, I paid in installments. But later my built apartment was sold at auction. V.Jokimas did not speak in any speech, I just stayed on the street,” he said.

Although both bills were finally paid, he accrued huge interest – $ 75,000. LTL.

Jokim categorically denied such a story, according to him, all the money fixed in the contracts was paid.

V.Jokimas – not a scam

Kaunas City District Court Judge Indrė Averkienė heard dozens of similar stories. Police identified 99 people to whom Jokimas lent a total of more than 4 million. LTL.

It is true that several borrowers claimed that they had no problem with Jokiimas loans and did not have to pay them back. I just got free money.

According to the testimony of witnesses, he was able to calculate that he won at least 105 thousand of this activity. but some witnesses could not be found and questioned. Some of them are dead.

It was this amount that the court decided to confiscate Jokimo, because the income was not accounted for in any way. He was convicted of fraudulent accounting, but avoided liability for the crime because it was already prohibited by law at the time of sentencing.

V. Jokimas received a fine of 7,532 euros for illegal participation in commercial activities. It is true that this decision has not yet entered into force, it was appealed by the convict. The decision is to be announced by the appeals court in late June.

Prosecutor Alma Markvaldienė, who controlled the case, declined to comment to the media, but responded to one 15 minutes The question is: why is the application of the law of the activities of V. Jokimas not considered elementary fraud?

“No one complained about that,” she replied. “We cannot open a fraud investigation without a complaint.”

15 minutes To his knowledge, V. Jokimas continues his lending activities to this day, and it is unclear how many people have collapsed due to the collision with him.

Jokim is not only a lender, but also an active fighter in law enforcement, which has become a headache for officials, prosecutors, courts, and many other institutions, shutting down hundreds of unfounded complaints.

“What can I say about Jokio? He is a malicious criminal,” he said. 15 minutes said the former head of the Garliava police station.

Read about V.Jokimas’ success in developing the loan business in the second part of the 15-minute study.