Trial in Feldkirch

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The accused Briton (l.) was presented in handcuffs on Friday.

(Bild: Dorn Chantall/Dorn)

A young entrepreneur from Vorarlberg lent his camera equipment worth 225,000 euros to a supposed film crew. By the time he became suspicious, it was already too late. However, one of the perpetrators is caught in Paris. The Briton had to answer to the lay assessor's court in Feldkirch on Friday.

Last July, the young entrepreneur, who worked in the film and advertising industry, was contacted by a man from Great Britain. It was about an alleged film shoot in a room in the Panoramahaus in Dornbirn, for which the Briton borrowed ten expensive special lenses. The 29-year-old had no idea that a criminal gang was behind the supposed film crew from England.

"I was told that it was a 'closed set'. In this case, intimate filming with two actresses and therefore only the most necessary people were allowed to be present," says the Vorarlberg native during the trial at Feldkirch Regional Court.

All those involved disappeared
After he had brought the equipment into a room together with a crew member, they had initially spent the waiting time together outside and making small talk. A little later, the alleged "organizer" tells the unsuspecting man that the crew member is a Muslim and now has to go to prayer. When he doesn't show up at some point, the Vorarlberg man becomes suspicious. A short time later, he realizes that the scammers and their equipment have fled.

In Paris, the Brit is caught on the basis of an international arrest warrant. He has been in custody for six months. He is sentenced to a total of 20 months unconditional imprisonment for serious fraud. The sentence is already final.