Six defendants

Trial after dubious real estate deals with dementia patients

The defendants before the trial.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

It is a very illustrious group that has been sitting in the dock at Wels Regional Court since Wednesday. Two lawyers, a notary, real estate developers and a real estate agent are accused of buying the valuable property of a senior citizen with dementia at a knock-down price.

"The accused are suspected of having induced a person suffering from dementia in 2019 to sign a transfer agreement, two gift agreements in the event of death and a health care proxy by taking advantage of her poor mental state and inexperience," reads a statement from the public prosecutor's office on the spectacular case, which has been on trial at Wels Regional Court since Wednesday.

900,000 too little paid?
Specifically, the case concerns a guesthouse, a piece of forest and a boathouse on Lake Traunsee, for which a real estate company ultimately paid less than half of the market value (according to the expert). The sale had to be reversed following a court ruling and the case is to be reopened today. 

Long trial
On Wednesday, all of the accused (all of whom are presumed innocent) will have to answer to the Wels Regional Court for serious fraud. A whole armada of lawyers from Vienna, Salzburg and Linz arrived to convince the jury that everything was completely different. The six defendants appeared visibly irritated by their situation in the dock. With the exception of the estate agent (she is the first defendant), they did not want to give any details about their assets.

"This is not a criminal case"
Their lawyer Oliver Plöckinger then immediately stated: "This is not a criminal case. No damage has been done." According to the lawyer, the seller's dementia was not recognizable at the time and the calculations of the experts regarding the property were simply wrong. 

The lawyers for the other defendants also emphasized their clients' innocence and did not see any criminal offences. Everything had gone smoothly and the possible dementia of the seller had not been noticeable.

Family relationships
However, on the advice of their legal representatives, the defendants did not want to answer questions from the public prosecutor and the private party lawyer (the sales clerk's grandson) - which is their right. However, they were already recorded in the minutes. The accused notary did not even want to answer the other lawyers' questions.

What is striking is that they know each other. Some of the defendants are closely related, or they know each other through their children, who go to school together. It's a small world at Lake Traunsee.

After that, there was a lot of talk about the lake property, which is actually leased from the Federal Forestry Office, the condition of the seller and, above all, whether the old lady and her granddaughter had been sufficiently informed.

Lawyers as court kibitzers
In view of the large number of defendants and the complexity of the matter, the trial is scheduled to last several days. It continues on Thursday at Wels Regional Court. The unusual nature of the case and, above all, the defendants, is also shown by the fact that numerous other lawyers were watching the trial in the audience.