Aarni Neuvonen
Encyclopedia
Aarni Neuvonen, properly Vadim Rozenberg, also known under the aliases of Aarni Rozenberg and Vadim Petrov, is the largest ever perpetrator of employment fraud
in Estonia
. He is known for having collected money with promise of overseas jobs from thousands of people and disappearing after having caused over (estimated) 10 million of EEK
of damages in 1993.
headquartered in Jerusalem and Bangkok
, offering jobs in hotel
s, pubs and factories
in South America
, Arabia and Europe
. Job-seekers were charged 2335 EEK
in advance; the fee was supposed to cover costs of "foreign passport" (note that this Soviet-era relic had long before disappeared from Estonian jurisprudence), visa, airline tickets and Estonian income tax
. At that time, the average salary in Estonia was about 1070 EEK, and due to the aftermath of the crash of the GOSPLAN
-governed Soviet economy, joblessness was around 17%. (Due to GOSPLAN
's main interest being in the military-industrial plants in Northern Estonia, which had been manned primarily by Russophone
migrants from Soviet Union
transferred to Estonia
specifically to work there, the high joblessness affected particularly Russophone people.)
Neuvonen also spread rumours that the first batch of jobs, supposedly scheduled to start working in Germany
, at industrial plants of Kodak, had already been fulfilled — thus implying that the number of jobs was limited, and enticing victims to bribe Neuvonen with 100 USD (about 1200 EEK at the then-current rates) fee for their positions in the queue to be lifted higher.
After enjoying long queues of jobseekers wanting to pay the fee, Neuvonen announced that the visas, air tickets and job permits would be handed over to everybody on 23 March 1993 in the banquette
hall of the Viru hotel. However, Neuvonen's office, opened on 10 January 1993, was closed already on 9 February 1993, and documents presented by the jobseekers were found in a garbage bin next to the office's door.
of advance fee; some analysts have speculated there were up to 5000 victims. After closure of the office, only 32 000 EEK were recovered from one of the company's banking accounts.
TV, defrauding hundreds of people out of an estimated million USD.
In 1994, Neuvonen, then presenting himself as a citizen of Norway
, was reported to be offering jobs in Europe to poor people in Bulgaria
, defrauding about 400 people out of an estimated million USD.
on Lasnamäe
.
Employment fraud
Employment fraud, or occupational fraud, is the scamming of people seeking or performing employment, giving them the false hope of earning wages of which they are often desperately in need. There are numerous methods that perpetrators of such schemes use to lure victims...
in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. He is known for having collected money with promise of overseas jobs from thousands of people and disappearing after having caused over (estimated) 10 million of EEK
Estonian kroon
In 1992, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 & 50 senti, as well as 1 kroon. The 1 kroon was struck in cupronickel, the others in aluminum-bronze. However, in 1997, nickel-plated steel 20 senti were introduced, followed by aluminum-bronze 1 kroon in 1998. 5 senti coins were not...
of damages in 1993.
Scheme
Neuvonen published in newspapers (mostly Russian) large and eye-catching ads on behalf of Inter Work Corporation, supposedly established in 1930s1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
headquartered in Jerusalem and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, offering jobs in hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, pubs and factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Arabia and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Job-seekers were charged 2335 EEK
Estonian kroon
In 1992, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 & 50 senti, as well as 1 kroon. The 1 kroon was struck in cupronickel, the others in aluminum-bronze. However, in 1997, nickel-plated steel 20 senti were introduced, followed by aluminum-bronze 1 kroon in 1998. 5 senti coins were not...
in advance; the fee was supposed to cover costs of "foreign passport" (note that this Soviet-era relic had long before disappeared from Estonian jurisprudence), visa, airline tickets and Estonian income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
. At that time, the average salary in Estonia was about 1070 EEK, and due to the aftermath of the crash of the GOSPLAN
Gosplan
Gosplan or State Planning Committee was the committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union. The word "Gosplan" is an abbreviation for Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Planirovaniyu...
-governed Soviet economy, joblessness was around 17%. (Due to GOSPLAN
Gosplan
Gosplan or State Planning Committee was the committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union. The word "Gosplan" is an abbreviation for Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Planirovaniyu...
's main interest being in the military-industrial plants in Northern Estonia, which had been manned primarily by Russophone
Russophone
A Russophone is literally a speaker of the Russian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with Russian language regardless of ethnic and territorial...
migrants from Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
transferred to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
specifically to work there, the high joblessness affected particularly Russophone people.)
Neuvonen also spread rumours that the first batch of jobs, supposedly scheduled to start working in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, at industrial plants of Kodak, had already been fulfilled — thus implying that the number of jobs was limited, and enticing victims to bribe Neuvonen with 100 USD (about 1200 EEK at the then-current rates) fee for their positions in the queue to be lifted higher.
After enjoying long queues of jobseekers wanting to pay the fee, Neuvonen announced that the visas, air tickets and job permits would be handed over to everybody on 23 March 1993 in the banquette
Banquette
In fortification, a banquette is a small foot path or elevated step along the inside of a rampart or parapet, by which the musketeers get up to view the counterscarp, or to fire on the enemies in the moat...
hall of the Viru hotel. However, Neuvonen's office, opened on 10 January 1993, was closed already on 9 February 1993, and documents presented by the jobseekers were found in a garbage bin next to the office's door.
Irregularities in licensing
In the investigation, it was discovered that on one of the company's supposed offices addresses was wasteland, and the other only held an electricity transmission substation — both places unsuitable for offices. Furthermore, three of the people supposedly investing in the company through its incorporation agreement did not exist.Damages
Police estimated that at least 3000 people paid Neuvonen the 2335 EEKEstonian kroon
In 1992, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 & 50 senti, as well as 1 kroon. The 1 kroon was struck in cupronickel, the others in aluminum-bronze. However, in 1997, nickel-plated steel 20 senti were introduced, followed by aluminum-bronze 1 kroon in 1998. 5 senti coins were not...
of advance fee; some analysts have speculated there were up to 5000 victims. After closure of the office, only 32 000 EEK were recovered from one of the company's banking accounts.
Later sightings
In 1993, Neuvonen, then using the alias of Daniil Rosenberg was reported to be advertising little-used American and Japanese cars for 1000 USD on UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
TV, defrauding hundreds of people out of an estimated million USD.
In 1994, Neuvonen, then presenting himself as a citizen of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, was reported to be offering jobs in Europe to poor people in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, defrauding about 400 people out of an estimated million USD.
Status
Neuvonen was never caught, and has been declared dead due to disappearance by an Estonian court at request of his wife of hurried marriage, whom he had fraudulently sold an apartmentApartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
on Lasnamäe
Lasnamäe
Lasnamäe is the most populous administrative district of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The districts' population is about 115,000, the majority of which is Russian-speaking. Local housing is mostly represented by 5-16 stories high panel blocks of flats, built in the 1970-1990s. Lasnamäe is...
.
Sources
- PostimeesPostimeesPostimees is an Estonian daily newspaper. It was established in 1 January 1857 by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and became Estonia's first daily newspaper in 1891....
7 February 2009: Superkelm lüpsis raha tuhandetelt ohvritelt by Rasmus Kagge - PostimeesPostimeesPostimees is an Estonian daily newspaper. It was established in 1 January 1857 by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and became Estonia's first daily newspaper in 1891....
17 December 2005: Õnnis elu Ameerikas