The head of a Yekaterinburg theater studio is facing accusations of fraud from numerous residents who claim they were scammed out of money for acting courses and performance opportunities. Victims allege they paid for training and participation in creative projects but received neither, prompting them to file collective complaints with the prosecutor’s office and police.

Anna, the studio head, refutes most of the accusations, claiming she operates legally and that disgruntled individuals are engaging in deliberate harassment and slander. She states that she has paid all taxes since 2021 and that training sessions are conducted weekly. However, many former students and contractors tell a different story.

The complaints against Anna include allegations of:

• Failure to provide promised training: Students claim they paid deposits and signed contracts for acting courses, but the courses were often canceled or changed at the last minute.
• Non-payment for services: Actors and other contractors allege they were promised fees for participating in events organized by Anna, but they never received their payment.
• Refusal to issue certificates: Students claim they were not issued certificates of completion for the training courses they took.
• Misleading information: Actors were asked to pay a deposit for a theatre party with the promise of an advance, costumes and stipends, which were never delivered.

The situation has escalated to legal action, with some individuals winning court cases against Anna, while others have had their requests to initiate a criminal case denied. Anna acknowledges receiving over a hundred police reports and attributes the situation to a disgruntled “initiative group” attempting to damage her reputation. She also claims that some dissatisfied participants were offered civil court solutions.

According to Anna, the conflict stems from creative differences, such as actors who failed to learn their lines being excluded from performances, which led to resentment.

The Yekaterinburg police have been contacted for comment, and the news will be updated as soon as a response is received. This incident follows a similar fraud case in Yekaterinburg involving blogger Ekaterina Ulanova, who is accused of defrauding customers by selling goods at below-market prices without delivering the products or providing refunds.