Fraud

Unteachable German in court again

Judge Martin Mitteregger imposed a prison sentence on the defendant.

(Bild: Chantall Dorn)

An incorrigible German man falsely booked returned goods and had to answer to the courts once again. This time the man received a prison sentence. 

The accused (34) has a long list of previous convictions. He has seven entries in Germany. In Austria, he was sentenced to a suspended sentence of five months for commercial theft a year ago. At the time, he had faked returns as an employee in an electrical wholesaler and thus pocketed around 65,000 euros. A mountain of debt that he is still sitting on today. How the cheeky German intends to pay it back is another question.

Because now he was back in court because, as a cashier at a sporting goods store in Oberland, he had again faked returns. As with his previous employer, he had deliberately booked goods purchased online by customers as returns. This time, the public prosecutor's office accused him of committing at least 46 frauds and causing damage of almost 7600 euros. At the trial on Wednesday, the 34-year-old pleaded not guilty. And pointed to inconsistencies in the returns lists. Once he was on vacation, another time he was on break at the time the returns were accepted and another time he had a lawyer's appointment.

"Why did you then say in a conversation with the management that you would pay for the damage and agree to withhold your salary?" Judge Martin Mitteregger wants to know. "I have a criminal record, am on probation and have cancer and HIV. I thought I'd just bite the bullet now," said the defendant honorably.

But the results of the investigation proved otherwise. In the end, the judge found the man guilty and sentenced him to 15 months in prison. An earlier suspended sentence of 5 months was revoked. The sentence is not final.