Borrowed account

70-year-old helped faith healer commit fraud

The defendant looked for excuses in court.(Bild: Chantall Dorn)

On Tuesday, a 70-year-old pensioner in Feldkirch (Vorarlberg) had to answer in court for fraud. An acquaintance had had the fees for her faith healer scams transferred to the pensioner's account. 

The pensioner was sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of six months and a fine of 1,800 euros for serious fraud and giving false evidence to an administrative authority. In addition, she must pay the state a forfeit amount of 5000 euros due to the intent to enrich herself.

Concealed high income
The panel of lay judges considered it proven that the defendant had made her bank account available to a now legally convicted fortune teller for the fraud between October 2022 and March 2023. And for good reason. The social welfare recipient wanted to deceive the authorities by concealing the high income from the district authorities. A defrauded Swiss woman had transferred 137,300 euros to the account.

During the trial, the pensioner only pleaded guilty to the charge of having supported the "witch" with regard to social fraud. As far as the account provided is concerned, the 70-year-old was very naive in her statements.

"Thought she was offering phone sex"
She claims not to have known anything about the fraud committed by her acquaintance. "And where do you think all the money in your account came from?" Judge Philipp Plattner wants to know from the 70-year-old. The answer comes promptly, but is not very convincing for prosecutor Karin Dragosits or the judge: "I only knew that your friend was a fortune teller and witch. I don't know what she actually did. To be honest, I thought she was offering phone sex."

The senate does not believe the defendant's innocence act. Especially as the defendant testified during the trial that she had once advised an acquaintance against making further payments to the 57-year-old. The verdict is not final. The 57-year-old faith healer in question was sentenced to four years in prison in September. The woman had used perfidious methods to defraud twelve gullible people of 480,000 euros.