Three defendants involved in the bonkers South Beach scam that involved sending hot Eastern European girls out on the town to lure men to what were basically fake nightclubs only to charge ridiculous sums to their credit cars have been convicted by a jury today. A fourth was acquitted.
See also:
- Eastern European B-girls in SoBe scam
Stanislav Pavlenko, Albert Takhalov and Isaac Feldman were convicted. Siavash Zargari, a business associate of Takhalov, was acquitted.
The three were convicted on numerous charges related conspiracy, wire fraud and money-laundering.
The jury took five days to reach the verdict after an 11-week trial.
The whole scam was concocted by Alec "Oleg" Simchuk, a Russian mobster. He had previously plead guilty and testified against his co-conspirators.
The group's scam involved sending out pretty young girls imported from Eastern Europe out to ritzy hotels and nightclubs in South Beach like the Delano and LIV. The girls would then lure inebriated men to a series of bars on Washington Avenue that were set up basically to bilk costumers. Exorbitant charges for champagne, caviar, and vodka were then billed to their credit cards.
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