A con man who had financed his life since 2003 from banks, lenders and women was sentenced to five years in prison by the Vienna Regional Court on Friday for serious commercial fraud and breach of trust.
The man was arrested on July 18, 2022. At the time he was in a relationship with two women who knew nothing about each other. He lived with one of them in a luxurious penthouse apartment and when she was out of the house, he entertained the other in the 300 square meter apartment and even cooked for their guests.
Partners knew nothing about fraud
The man had been in a relationship since October 2018 with the only partner he met through a dating site. The 55-year-old witness described him as a very busy and wealthy businessman abroad who owned property in Greece: ‘I didn’t know he was a professional fraudster.’ Only afterwards did she realize that the garage space for their shared apartment was at her expense, even though she has no car or even a driver’s license, that he had cheated her parents for money and took out a loan of 25,000 euros in her name and with a forged signature. had closed. “He did it smart,” the witness said, “that’s the fascinating thing about him. He can screw you up so much you won’t notice.’
The man also met his second partner during a dating exchange. The 51-year-old fell in love with the eloquent, charming man in his mid-50s in January 2021. He explains to her that he earns 20,000 euros a month and does not have to worry because he has inherited 50 million. When the divorced woman’s son wanted to do an internship, he gave the boy an apartment in Vienna – the monthly rent was 2,280 euros. The rent was never paid. This deceived woman reported that the suspect often had no time for her: “He talked about business trips, a knee operation, an illness. His biological father died once, and later his stepmother.”
Not only did he take money from another affected person – a trade representative at an embassy in Vienna, whom the man was with from 2012 to 2016 – by pretending to cover medical costs for brain tumor treatment or a sudden financial crunch. He also forged their signatures, entered into credit card contracts in their names, intercepted the cards and used them himself.
No support for ex-wife and son
The 56-year-old may have played a particularly bad role with the woman he was married to from 1994 to 2014. After the divorce, he paid no alimony to her or their son. In the end, she only had 50 euros left and had to send her son to work to keep the family afloat, the 55-year-old tearfully told the Senate.
Damage of more than 670,000 euros
The Public Prosecution Service accused the man of causing damage of more than 670,000 euros. He was found guilty of almost all of the more than 130 individual charges. The 56-year-old had already made a full confession at the start of the trial at the end of July: “It was a lie. I always wanted to be more than myself.”
Don’t judge definitively
As chairman of a jury panel, Salzborn declared that the man, who had been convicted four times, was a “smart man”: “If you had used your intelligence differently, the world would have been better off.” a “fraud, and professional too. They did that perfectly.” The five-year prison sentence is not legally binding. The 56-year-old accepted the sentence, but the public prosecutor has not yet made a statement.
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.
