Case spb-choreographer-beglov-ai-avatar-scamDeepfake fraudRussia
St Petersburg ballet master Komleva sells flat for 9.1M rubles after calls from AI avatar of Governor Beglov
Scammers reportedly used an AI avatar of St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov, plus a man posing as a first deputy interior minister, in messenger video calls to convince Mariinsky Theatre ballet master Gabriela Komleva, 87, to sell her Tsarskoye Selo flat for 9.1M rubles (December 2024) and hand the proceeds to them. She realised the deception months later and went to police; the case became public via a court ruling that let the buyer keep the flat.
MediumAttack using AIStatus: criminal case opened; court let the flat buyer keep the propertyVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 22, 2026
- Location
- Russia
- Target
- Gabriela Komleva, 87, Mariinsky Theatre ballet master, St Petersburg
- Severity
- Medium
- Verification
- Reported by credible press or researchers
- Triggered by
- Unknown
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Scammers reportedly used an AI avatar of St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov, plus a man posing as a first deputy interior minister, in messenger video calls to convince Mariinsky Theatre ballet master Gabriela Komleva, 87, to sell her Tsarskoye Selo flat for 9.1M rubles (December 2024) and hand the proceeds to them. She realised the deception months later and went to police; the case became public via a court ruling that let the buyer keep the flat.
Impact: A St Petersburg choreographer was deceived by the scammers. The amount lost is not stated in the headline.
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown
Attribution: Unknown scammers; no attribution given in the report.
Motive: Financial fraud (presumed)
How it happened
Attack vector: AI-generated avatar of a public official used to impersonate him to the victim
Root cause: Realistic AI avatars of officials can be used to impersonate them and win victims' trust.
Timeline
- Reported by Рамблер
Response
Unknown
Current status: criminal case opened; court let the flat buyer keep the property
Research warnings this case matches
- Seen in real incidents AI-made fakes fuel fraud and extortion · International AI Safety Report
- Seen in real incidents Malicious actors and misuse · MIT AI Risk Repository
Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Рамблер news.google.com
- Gazeta.ru via Rambler news.rambler.ru
- Life.ru life.ru
Cite this case
St Petersburg ballet master Komleva sells flat for 9.1M rubles after calls from AI avatar of Governor Beglov. AI Threat Watch, case spb-choreographer-beglov-ai-avatar-scam, Oct 22, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/spb-choreographer-beglov-ai-avatar-scam/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/spb-choreographer-beglov-ai-avatar-scam/
Related cases
The same type of incident, most recent first.