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A multimillion-euro fraud case, run under the pretense of raising money for seriously ill children, is under investigation by the authorities. Evidence from the investigation reveals how an organized ring operated behind the charitable association “Paidiki Chara” in Northern Greece.

The ring’s activity began at least as early as 2018. The scheme relied on the public’s sympathy for children fighting serious illnesses, mainly cancer. The investigation found that through 2026, more than 5,800,000 euros were credited to the association’s accounts and to the personal accounts of the main suspect. This amount does not include cash that may have been collected at events and through donation boxes in various parts of the country.

While families of children with severe illnesses struggled to find money for hospital stays and treatments, the NGO’s charitable front was hiding, according to the authorities, a well-organized profit machine. Exploiting human suffering, the organization moved thousands of euros through suspicious transactions between relatives, and its activity even reached into soccer.

At the center of the case is the NGO’s 37-year-old head, Konstantinos Firinidis, who regularly showed off his luxurious lifestyle on social media. According to the findings of the Hellenic Police, this lifestyle was funded directly by contributions from unsuspecting citizens who believed they were supporting children with serious health problems.

His 35-year-old wife also appears in conversations with relatives and friends discussing invoices, bank transactions and personal expenses. This material is being evaluated as part of the case file, since the recorded statements do not automatically prove that the defendants committed the crimes they are charged with.

“We sold our house, everything we had”

“The most tragic part is that both the NGO’s president and his partner cried with us, and at the same time they were stealing from us. They mocked our tears,” Ms. Voula told tanea.gr. She had turned to “Paidiki Chara” for financial help to cover the needs of her daughter, Lydia-Paraskevi, who was 3 years old at the time.

It all started when the family faced the harsh reality of a serious cancer diagnosis. The parents had to travel immediately to Germany for the child’s surgery, which forced them into drastic sacrifices. “We sold everything we had. I sold my jewelry, everything, even our own house. Now we rent. I gave it all for my child,” the mother says.

When they returned to Athens, the girl was immediately admitted to the “Marianna V. Vardinogianni” Oncology Hospital for chemotherapy. The treatment did not work, and her health worsened further with peripheral kidney disease.

“They told us, ‘Don’t be afraid, we’re here’”

The financial drain pushed the family to despair. Ms. Voula remembers the moment they hit rock bottom: “One night my child wanted to eat something specific from outside, and we didn’t even have those 10 euros to get it for her. Another parent offered to buy it. With tears in my eyes, I fed my child and put her to bed.”

In the hallways of the oncology hospital, where parents stand together, the mother first heard about the “Paidiki Chara” NGO and got in touch with the 35-year-old defendant. At first, the organization’s response seemed like a lifeline. “They told us, ‘Don’t be afraid, we’re here.’ I fell down and kissed her hands, begging for help,” the mother says.

The NGO immediately asked for the child’s medical records and for photos of her, taken while she was in very poor condition, to post on Facebook. The public’s response was moving, and many people contacted the family directly. Within two months, the NGO told the parents that between 20,000 and 25,000 euros had been raised. The money was handed over in cash inside the hospital.

“The child was in terrible shape, very swollen, her hair had fallen out, she looked tragic. The post goes up and we see people responding, and they call me, some asked to send the money directly to me. The 35-year-old came to the oncology hospital and gave us the money in cash.”

“I’m certain the money was more”

As the treatments continued and the needs grew, a second fundraiser followed. That is when the first doubts appeared, although the family, absorbed in the fight for their child’s survival, could not imagine what was really happening.

Despite strong engagement on social media, the NGO’s president told the family that people were not responding enough and that 10,000 euros had been collected.

“We never asked to see a list of donors. But now I’m certain that the money raised was much more. The money of my sick child,” the mother says angrily, denouncing the hypocrisy of those running the NGO.

“The 35-year-old would visit our children and bring gifts. How can these people sleep at night?” she concludes.

Firinidis’s instructions for the posts

In one phone call, the 37-year-old speaks with the father of a sick child for whom a fundraiser was about to be held. Konstantinos Firinidis instructs him on which phone number to use and the name he should go by.

K. Firinidis: “First, you need to find a phone number you don’t have, one you’ve never used before.”

Child’s father: “Yes.”

K. Firinidis: “Second, you’ll get all the money on a card.”

Child’s father: “Got it.”

K. Firinidis: “And third, you’ll tell everyone that we’ve never posted about you before.”

Child’s father: “Got it, president.”

K. Firinidis: “And that your name is Alekos, not Alexandros.”

Child’s father: “Alekos, got it, president.”

Child’s father: “When the post goes up, will my child’s photo be shown?”

K. Firinidis: “Probably not.”

Child’s father: “It shouldn’t be shown, because if it is, they’ll say this child has been helped before.”

K. Firinidis: “We’ll use other photos. It’ll be done by the afternoon.”

In a later conversation, Firinidis appears to set limits on the same person’s expectations about how much money could be raised.

“Now, just so you know, we’ll raise whatever we can. Don’t dream of fifty or forty grand. We’ll do whatever we can to help you. (…) We can’t work miracles either.”

“We already lost 20 grand”

In another call, between Firinidis’s wife and a close friend of hers, they discuss trying to find out whether another woman’s bank account can be closed. The 35-year-old suggests that the organization take over managing the money.

The 35-year-old’s friend: “Uh, I just talked to Nikos at the (bank named) where I go, to get an opinion. (…) He tells me, you won’t be able to do anything, believe me.”

35-year-old: “Didn’t I tell you?”

The 35-year-old’s friend: “Only through a lawyer. He says you can’t just close her account like that, even if she’s a fraud, you should know that. The bank has no reason to close her account.”

35-year-old: “Do you want us to tell her, do you want us to tell her to come to us so we can at least control what happens to that money?”

The 35-year-old’s friend: “Yes, we already lost twenty grand. I don’t know, man.”

“We’ve gone through so many thousands in just a few days”

In another recorded conversation, the 37-year-old and his wife try to add up their spending over the previous days. The woman is shocked by how much they have spent.

35-year-old: “I’m in shock. I have to tell you something, we’ve gone through so many thousands in just a few days. I mean, okay, let’s calm down a bit, let’s calm down a bit. I’m really not spending anything again, nothing, nothing, nothing.”

K. Firinidis: “Didn’t I send you 6 grand on Revolut? Or not?”

35-year-old: “It’s not possible. I’ll find it, I’ll transfer from Revolut too, it’s just that Revolut is having problems today and the money isn’t coming through.”

K. Firinidis: “Come on, my love, what? Did I take 20,000 euros?”

35-year-old: “I’ll sit down and count it now, what I’ve spent too.”

K. Firinidis: “Do you know how much money, how many days it’s been since I took any money?”

35-year-old wife: “I’m transferring the 5,000 to you now, reference: invoice down payment.”

K. Firinidis: “Yes, count it, count it, and don’t stress.”

35-year-old wife: “Did I spend 20 grand? I’m in shock now.”

K. Firinidis: “No, my love, maybe you didn’t spend it, but maybe I, for example, took 6 or 7 grand that I sent to you.”

35-year-old wife: “Well, then I should have it. That’s the problem. I can’t find it. I know what I spent.”

“If you give a red card, you’ll get another 300 euros”

In one of the most revealing conversations, Firinidis tells an acquaintance about his meeting with a person he describes as the head of refereeing, claiming they agreed on the assignment of specific referees.

K. Firinidis: “I met last night with, with that head referee.”

Friend: “And?”

K. Firinidis: “And I tell him, you know, I want you to make the assignments, the ones I want. And he says to me, do you really need it… against A*****, do you need it? I say I don’t, but because they’ve been mouthing off a lot, I want to shut them up, to show off my power.”

K. Firinidis: “And he says, who do you want us to put in? I say tell me someone, and he says, do you want to give some pocket money? I say yes. And he says, leave it to me.”

Friend: “Like a five hundred?”

K. Firinidis: “300 euros. 300 euros, and I told him if you give a red card to […] or […], you’ll get another 300.”

Friend: “What are you saying?”

K. Firinidis: “Yes, yes.”

“This game is already won”

In another exchange, Firinidis is recorded asking an associate for assurances about the final result of a soccer match.

K. Firinidis: “Who will he put in?”

Associate: “The one we talked about.”

K. Firinidis: “You hear me? Tell him 100-0, though.”

Associate: “That’s what he told me. This game is already won, he says. It’s over, he says.”

K. Firinidis: “Yes, but 100-0.”

Associate: “And even if we don’t score, he says, the game will end in the 1,200th minute, he says.”

K. Firinidis: “I want, you know what I want? A show of power.”

Associate: “I love the way you put it.”

“Have them kick them from the first minute”

In a different conversation, Firinidis gives instructions to someone connected to a soccer team about the tactics the players should follow during the match.

First, he asks that a camera not be visible so that, as he claims, a third person’s behavior is not affected.

K. Firinidis: “Did you mention that thing about the cameras?”

Acquaintance: “Yes, yes, yes, I talked to them.”

K. Firinidis: “No way, the camera must not be seen at all, so the other guy doesn’t get cold feet.”

Acquaintance: “Okay, yes, yes.”

K. Firinidis: “Tell your dad to complain.”

Acquaintance: “Okay.”

K. Firinidis: “Understand? Like we’re being treated unfairly.”

K. Firinidis: “And explain to them that they should go all out and kick them from the first minute. He won’t give us a red card.”

Acquaintance: “All right.”

K. Firinidis: “But don’t let them figure out that…”

Acquaintance: “No, no, I’m not telling anyone anything.”

Luxury suites and bills of hundreds of euros

The couple’s finances and habits are reflected in phone calls with hotels. In a call with an employee of a large hotel in Athens, the 35-year-old wife asks for a suite, stressing that the couple are regular customers.

35-year-old: “We always book a suite, the…”

Hotel employee: “There is a Junior Suite available.”

35-year-old: “Okay.”

Hotel employee: “It’s 410 euros with breakfast, plus 15 for the climate change tax.”

35-year-old: “Okay, yes, we know that, I’m telling you.”

35-year-old: “We come there all the time, that’s why I asked you to look up our name, so you’d know which room we always book.”

Similarly, Firinidis calls a five-star hotel in Thessaloniki asking for a corner suite for a stay of a few hours.

K. Firinidis: “First of all, I’m a customer, I come very often.”

K. Firinidis: “I usually take the suite on the 2nd floor or the 1st […] the corner one.”

Hotel employee: “The suite comes to 480, but let me see if we can give you a better price.”

In another call with a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, the founder asks about a suite with a garden view.

Hotel employee: “It’s 487 euros.”

K. Firinidis: “Great […] I’ll come, 1000%. Is there any chance I can pay in cash?”