07.01.2026 19:43
An indictment has been prepared against a person who defrauded 204 different individuals by practicing fraud in Erzurum. The indictment states that the suspect manipulated the victims by sending "prayers and verses" via cargo, and it was noted that the suspect owns 13 real estate properties and 2 vehicles, and that he purchased gold worth 2 million 383 thousand 335 lira with the money obtained from the fraud.
On April 30, 2025, a report was made to the Palandöken District Police Department's email account in Erzurum stating that a person named Serdar at an address in the Yıldızkent neighborhood was engaging in fraudulent treatments and practices under the guise of being a healer and medium, deceiving people for financial gain. Following this report, an investigation was initiated, and an indictment was prepared by the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Serdar Ç. (53), who was arrested.
PHONE TAPPED
In the indictment accepted by the Erzurum 1st Heavy Penal Court, it was evaluated that the defendant mentioned in the report had committed a crime, and since there was no possibility of obtaining further evidence to determine whether he had carried out the actions and whether there were other individuals acting in concert with him, it was concluded that measures should be applied to the phone line registered in his name to decipher the actions.
As a result, it was stated in the indictment that a court order was issued to monitor and record communications on the defendant's GSM line for three months, during which 76 conversations containing criminal content confirming the report were detected with the complainants.
2 MILLION 383 THOUSAND 335 LIRA WORTH OF GOLD PURCHASED
In the indictment, it was noted that an examination of Serdar Ç.'s bank accounts from January 1 to October 20, 2025, revealed that a total of 2 million 939 thousand 157 lira and 5 thousand 100 Euros were received in 308 transactions from 204 different individuals into three different accounts, while his wife A.Ç.'s account received 546 thousand 380 lira in 39 transactions as monthly and rent payments, and that gold worth 2 million 383 thousand 335 lira was purchased in 41 different transactions with this money.
The indictment included the following regarding account movements and asset determinations: "It was found that money was sent to the defendant's account by 204 individuals residing in many different provinces of Turkey, and the fact that these individuals were spread across the country indicated that the defendant was conducting the activities subject to the crime not locally but within a structure that spanned a wide geography, characterized by continuity and systematicity. The frequent use of expressions such as 'sacrifice fee, vow, alms, thank you teacher, fitra, donation' in the explanations of the money transfers revealed that these transactions were directly aligned with fraudulent methods that exploited religious beliefs and spiritual influence, and there was strong suspicion that the amounts in question were proceeds of crime. It was assessed that the majority of the money received in the accounts of the defendant and his wife was transferred to a jeweler and that gold was purchased, indicating an attempt to obscure the financial trace of the money by converting it into gold."
SENT "VERSES AND PRAYERS" BY CARGO
In the indictment, it was stated that "In this regard, the defendant and his wife systematically accumulated wealth, and when the title deed records of the defendant and his wife were examined, it was found that there were a total of 13 real estate properties and 2 vehicle registrations. When this is considered together with the gold purchases, it shows that the income and assets obtained cannot be explained by ordinary economic activities. Given the existence of high amounts of money inflows and outflows in their accounts even in just a 10-month period, it was assessed that if the account movements covering a wider time frame were examined, much higher amounts and a larger number of individuals transferring money could be revealed."
It was recorded in the indictment that the defendant sent "verses and prayers" by cargo to reinforce his fraudulent actions, manipulating the complainants with scientifically unfounded rituals by suggesting that these would be effective in solving their problems. It was also noted that during searches of the defendant's home and car, 74 thousand 700 lira, a total of 428.49 grams of gold bracelets and rings were found.
MONEY COLLECTED UNDER THE NAME OF "SACRIFICE"
The indictment provided information that documents containing the defendant's photograph, as well as numerous papers used for writing verses, prayers, and amulets, were seized, and that statements were taken from 29 of the 38 complainants connected to the defendant, of whom 25 stated that they had sent money under various names but did not file a complaint, while 4 stated that they had sent large amounts of money under the name of sacrifice and filed a complaint.
It was stated in the indictment that all the reports obtained during the investigation, communication detections, complainant statements, account movements, examinations, and cargo records were evaluated as a whole, and it was recorded: "The defendant introduced himself as a 'teacher' to the complainants who contacted him and positioned himself as a 'spiritual guide, spiritual authority.' In conversations with numerous complainants who reached out to him for various personal issues, he exploited religious beliefs and emotions to deceive them through false and fraudulent methods such as 'breaking spells, removing the evil eye, sacrificing, writing verses,' thereby obtaining benefits. It was assessed that he systematically converted a large portion of the money received into gold, attempting to obscure the financial trace of the money, and that many of the explanations for the transfers included terms such as 'sacrifice, vow, fitra, donation, healing.' When the address information of the 204 individuals who sent money to his account was examined, it was understood that these individuals resided in different provinces of Turkey, and the intense cargo shipments to individuals in different provinces of Turkey matched the rituals mentioned in the conversations, such as 'sending verses/prayers, mixing in water and drinking, hanging in the house.'
REQUEST FOR UP TO 320 YEARS IN PRISON
In the indictment, it was requested that the defendant Serdar Ç. be sentenced to 128 to 320 years in prison and a judicial fine for the crime of "qualified fraud by exploiting religious beliefs and emotions, using information systems, banks, or credit institutions as tools" due to his actions against 32 complainants, and for the same crime, 4 to 30 years in prison and a judicial fine for the attempt against 4 complainants.