What do you think of Svetlana, the 71 year con artist granny?

How would you feel if you were conned out of the equivalent of thousands or millions of US dollars by a 71 year old granny going by the unusual name of Svetlana? A far fetched fantasy? Not at all, have a quick browse on Reuters or Yahoo News and you will indeed find out that this is a true story. Russian Super Gran, Svetlana was tracked down only this past week, having been on the run from the law since 2008.

Between 2007 and 2008, Svetlana is said to have posed as a well connected granny with contacts at Moscow’s City Hall. She lured Russian businessmen into parting with huge sums of money, promising to secure land in upmarket estates of Moscow from her City Hall “contacts.” That was the last that the corrupt land prospectors saw of granny dearest, until now!

As investigations continue, the septuagenarian has been restricted by the police from travelling outside of Moscow. It will be interesting to unearth the motive behind her con artistry. One would like to think that for her to win the confidence of some of Russia’s top business men, she holds some level of status and financial clout, unless if her victims were outright nitwits who were too desperate for land to think properly! Could she have done it to secure the future of her descendants or did she have a bucket list of things she would like to do before she dies but which she did not have money for? A gambling extravaganza in Vegas or an exotic holiday in Honolulu for instance? Who knows, maybe she just did it for the plain fun of it, just to prove the point that old does not equate to brainless, clueless or useless.

Time will tell the reasons and already many must be denouncing the extremely bad example that has been set for the youth by a senior citizen. You can bet a few rubles though, that in some old age homes throughout Europe and beyond, Svetlana has earned some adoring elderly fans who feel that in her, they finally have one up on the generally disrespectful and unappreciative younger generation of today.