Calling alleged detectives should lure an Innsbrucker (77) of about 52,000 euros. Two seized money couriers were now facing the regional court as defendants. But what did they know? The answer turned out to be very different from what had been expected.
The perfidious scam is currently “fashionable”: fake detectives or police officers call the elderly and warn them that their money is not safe. “A certain Mr. Ackermann contacted the 77-year-old victim and said that his name was on a list of Romanian criminals,” the prosecutor clarified the Tyrolean case.
The pensioner would take his money (then 52,000 euros) from the bank, which he did. When he called again he was told that it was counterfeit money and that he had to hand everything over to a “criminal” who would show up.
Impeccable pizza makers
On this November evening, the two suspects were at the door – both Kosovar pizza bakers and impeccable fathers living in South Tyrol. They were arrested and in fact it seemed unlikely that they would not at least be convicted as accomplices. But things turned out differently: one of the defendants (51) described that the order to collect the money in Innsbruck came from a distant relative in Kosovo.
He wanted to collect 52,000 euros in debts after construction work. “I owed him a favor,” the defendant justified the strange journey. When asked, he pulled out his mobile phone in court – and the interpreter promptly translated the accompanying old chat histories.
The real police waited
Apparently clueless (couldn’t be proven otherwise), he and his co-suspect passenger called the 77-year-old. In the meantime, however, he had become suspicious and had informed the real police.
“I’m ashamed to sit here and be accused of helping old people,” the 51-year-old sobbed at the end. After only three minutes of deliberation, the jury approved an acquittal. The man behind him must now be investigated, which should not be easy given his stay in Kosovo.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
