A Tyrolean man appeared before the regional court on Thursday for breach of trust. His love for online sports betting tempted him to help himself to customer accounts. The ruin will now result in a prison sentence.
The former client advisor’s procedure was quite simple: Over a three-year period, the man repeatedly transferred small contributions from clients’ savings accounts to his accounts. To ensure that this was not noticed, he kept making balance adjustments for the 22 customers.
The motive for the crimes quickly became clear during the trial before the jury led by Judge Paul Menardi: “I was extremely addicted to gambling,” said the suspect, who confessed from the start.
“I got deeper and deeper into the vortex”
He started gambling online in 2016 and “got deeper and deeper into the vortex” playing with bigger and bigger stakes. He wanted to use this to compensate for losses; somehow he wanted to repay the siphoned money from the bank customers. But the house of cards collapsed and everything came to light. “I ruined everything,” says the 26-year-old, who regrets the break in his resume. He now works in the social sector: “I want to give something back to society.”
Imprisonment, definitely part of it
The jury imposed a partial prison sentence of 24 months. Sixteen months were given a conditional probation, so the young man must serve eight months. He was also ordered to undergo psychotherapy to finally get his gambling addiction under control.
The cleanliness and confession were seen as mitigating factors, while the long period in which the crime was committed and the very high amounts of damages were seen as aggravating factors. Menardi also mentioned general preventive reasons: “As a bank customer you should actually be able to trust the bank and the customer advisor.” The judgment is not legally binding.
Source: Krone
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