Dorota Jaróg has told her story many times. About how Małgorzata W. deceived her by pretending to be a man, and how she sent her 400,000 zlotys, destroying the proof of payment each time. Over the past year, she has given many interviews and been invited to television programs. Eventually, she appeared on “Rozmowy w toku” (the program will be broadcast on February 10 at 3:55 p.m. on TVN). The regional press and nationwide women’s magazines wrote about her. Talking to journalists was a form of therapy—a way of getting out what had happened to her during four years of contact with a fraudster whom the court assessed as a person inclined toward emotional manipulation, satisfying her own needs without taking other people’s feelings into account.
No one judged her in the “Rozmowy w toku” studio
The invitation to Ewa Drzyzga’s program did not fill Dorota with enthusiasm. She was worried about how her family and friends would react. “Not everyone likes this program. I don’t know how my loved ones will react once it is broadcast. At first, I didn’t want to agree. But they insisted so much that I gave in,” Dorota says. “I didn’t particularly like the prospect of confronting the audience directly. I didn’t go there for the money. Reimbursement for travel expenses and a 300-zloty fee for the use of my image are not amounts that are overwhelming.”
She herself had been deceived out of an unimaginable sum, and that was what she talked about in the studio during the recording: how she met Szymon, whom Małgorzata from Raciborowice pretended to be; what the fraudster intended to spend the first amount sent on; and how the relationship developed. During the recording, Dorota Jaróg was extremely nervous, although she was treated like a princess on “Rozmowy w toku”. “When I saw the audience, I forgot what I was supposed to say. But I felt very comfortable on the program. They took care of me and, above all, they did not judge me. They recognized that what happened to me could have happened to anyone. No one attacked me. I was afraid of questions from the audience. People keep writing on forums that I’m stupid and naïve, and that I deserved what happened to me. People cannot forgive me for being deceived,” Dorota recounted. “The psychologist in the studio described me as an overprotective person. One woman in the audience asked whether I had tried to meet Szymon to see what he looked like. Another woman asked whether I would now check more carefully the men I meet. I assured her that I would.”
The verdict is still not final
After her story was published in “Życie na Gorąco”, a man in his forties contacted Dorota. He wanted to meet her, but she firmly refused. For now, she does not intend to meet anyone. She is waiting for the appeals verdict sought by the convicted fraudster’s lawyer. The sentence imposing two years and two months in prison on Małgorzata W. will not, however, help Dorota repay her debt. “I am thinking about declaring consumer bankruptcy, but I don’t know whether I have any chance,” Dorota wonders. “Maybe I will only have to repay the principal. I am not counting the interest. It increases by several hundred zlotys every day. I meet with the bailiff regularly. I am also worried about the appeals verdict. She [Małgorzata W. – przyp. red.] is sitting at home and probably pleased that nothing has happened to her. The case is still unresolved.”
The court ruled that the lengthy prison sentence for Małgorzata W. would serve a preventive and rehabilitative purpose, because only in this way could she be made aware that committing crimes is unprofitable and that she must change her previous way of life. The appeal concerned, among other things, challenging the amount Dorota sent to the fraudster. Based on the evidence collected—payments made through Poczta Polska from May 2008 to June 2009—the sum was 126,000 zlotys. Poczta Polska keeps proof of payment for only one year. Dorota concealed from her family that she was sending money to her beloved and destroyed the payment receipts. The court believed her testimony because it was consistent and logical. It found no desire for revenge in it. Dorota Jaróg testified that she had sent Małgorzata nearly 400,000 zlotys. The accused did not testify in court and did not deny it. She refused to answer any questions. The appeals verdict will be delivered this week. It is quite possible that the fraudster is laughing both at the deceived woman and at the justice system. And many people still cannot forgive the deceived woman for being taken in.
(report by Grażyna Hanaf)