Romanians convicted of playing deaf and dumb to steal donations

It couldn’t be more brazen: Three Romanians (22, 22, 44), all unemployed and with criminal records, posed as ‘deaf-mute’ fundraisers to specifically extract money from the pockets of elderly and kind-hearted people. people. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the trio traveled to at least four states between October 2023 and March 2024: Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Salzburg. The criminals spoke to their victims on the street or at their front door, showing a piece of paper saying they were raising money for the ‘State Association for Disabled and Deaf-Mute Children’, so that this fictitious association could open a child abuse center. the disabled.

Four of the nine victims were also robbed
Of course, that donation thing was a lie. However, nine people took out their wallets full of empathy and gave the supposedly deaf people small amounts of money: a total of about 200 euros. In the meantime, the victims were also robbed: in four out of nine people, the Romanians were also able to steal cash and valuables from the victims.

An extensive confession and an “I’m sorry” could be heard from all three men on Thursday during the trial at the Salzburg regional court. One of the three answered Judge Günther Nocker’s ‘why’ question with: ‘The money was not enough.’ The judge, however, emphasized: ‘They specifically targeted elderly and sick people.’ minimum pensioners up to.

In any case, all three donation fraudsters now want to compensate for the damage, they said in the regional court. The judge found all three guilty of fraud and theft in the context of a criminal organization: two Romanians must each serve a year in prison, the third must serve five months – legally binding.