Exchanged at the cash desk

50,000 euros in counterfeit money ordered on Amazon

The defendants had ordered "flowers" for 50,000 euros on the internet (symbolic photo).

(Bild: LPD Oberösterreich)

Two boys ordered counterfeit money worth 50,000 euros via an online mail order company. One of them foisted the "blossoms" on a grocer and was caught. At Linz Provincial Court, both received a conditional sentence and the judge's urgent advice "not to do any more nonsense".

Together, a 19-year-old and his 20-year-old friend are said to have come up with the idea of ordering counterfeit money. "At first we wanted to do it via Telegram", explained one of the defendants at Linz Regional Court. In the end, it was Amazon. One ordered "blossoms" worth 50,000 euros, the other paid 34 euros for them.

Money seized in the children's room
The younger one exchanged 2600 euros of this for real money in his function as a Billa cashier, and around 47,000 euros were seized during searches in the defendants' children's rooms. Both defense lawyers spoke of their clients' "immense stupidity" and that there was little criminal energy.

"Don't do any more nonsense"
They therefore hoped to be able to settle the matter with a diversion. However, the judge decided otherwise: six months conditional imprisonment with a three-year probationary period, the sentence is final. This sentence does not appear on the criminal record. The young age of the accused, their integrity and their confession were mitigating factors. "Now they mustn't do any more nonsense," the judge tells the boys.