Styrian musician

Relationship swindler ripped off numerous women

The man also lulled the women with cell phone messages.

(Bild: DimaBerlin - stock.adobe.com)

A 27-year-old musician from southern Styria is said to have pretended to be in love with several women for years and cheated them out of thousands of euros. He did not shy away from psychological terror and physical violence. Now the handcuffs have clicked for the relationship swindler.

According to the police, the man from the Leibnitz district is a passionate musician and met his victims at events. He then made contact via social media platforms and lured the women in. 

The 27-year-old pretended to be in love with the women and claimed that he had a great career in the Austrian army. Once he had built up enough trust, he pretended that he could not access his bank account for various reasons and borrowed money from his supposed lovers. 

Photos of army missions
However, the women never saw the money again. The man from southern Styria kept coming up with new excuses, including sending them photos of alleged military operations. When the excuses were no longer enough, he also tried to intimidate the women with psychological terror and physical violence, according to the police.

Now the handcuffs have clicked for the man and he has been sent to the Klagenfurt prison by order of the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt due to bias on the part of the Graz authorities. 

At least seven women are believed to have fallen victim to the fraudster, but the police assume that the number of unreported cases is higher and are now looking for more victims. 

Victims can contact the Gnas police station on 059 133/6123