Trial in Wels

Inconsistencies surrounding questionable real estate deal

A total of six defendants will stand before the judge.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

In the trial surrounding a questionable property deal on Lake Traunsee, the court in Wels devoted itself to the examination of details on Tuesday. There were also some inconsistencies in the statements of some of the six defendants. A verdict will only be reached in the coming weeks.

Two lawyers, a notary and three people from the real estate sector - some of whom have a close family relationship - are alleged to have persuaded an elderly woman to sell her property for significantly less than its value. The judge was concerned about inconsistencies in their statements. For example, the first accused estate agent was in hospital or on vacation at the time of the alleged appointments.

Sold below value
In autumn 2019, the defendants accused of serious fraud allegedly urged the woman to sell her property, a former guesthouse on Lake Traunsee, to a real estate company for 750,000 euros, although the market value was 1.66 million euros. The accusation is that the owner - who has since passed away - was no longer legally competent at the time. Her adult representative, who had only been appointed shortly after the property deal, argued in court that she had been "overwhelmed" and had not known what she had sold to whom.

Sick or on vacation in Croatia?
On Tuesday, the judge confronted the estate agent with several inconsistencies in her previous statements. According to documents seized by the public prosecutor's office, she was hospitalized at the time she allegedly picked up the sales contract documents from the law firm. Photos on her cell phone also show that she was on vacation in Croatia at the time of an alleged viewing appointment.

"The story you have presented to us so far does not match the analyzed chat messages," said the judge. The defendant remained evasive. Her husband is also said to have acted as a tipster for the deal, which has since been reversed - she admitted that she had not correctly accounted for the commission for him, "I did that wrong".

Over the course of the day, further supplementary questioning of the accused was scheduled. A verdict is expected next week.