- Court convicted man of lying about Shania Geiss
Due to the court's conviction that he fabricated an affair with reality TV star Shania Geiss (20), a young man has been sentenced to a fine. The judge at Heilbronn Local Court imposed a penalty of 90 daily rates of 30 euros on the 24-year-old for defamation. Since both the prosecution and the defendant waived their right to appeal, the verdict is already final.
In the trial, the defendant admitted the allegations through his lawyer. "It was never his intention to harm Frau Geiss in any way," the defense attorney said. He could not explain today how his client came up with the idea to publish the fake chat logs. "It was rather thoughtless," the lawyer added.
Geiss initially declined to comment on the trial and neither she nor other family members appeared in court.
Defendant accused of publishing fake chats
The prosecution accused the man of posting a fake chat log on his Instagram account, followed by around 500,000 people, which suggested he had sex with Geiss in a club in Kitzbühel. He was aware that there had been no meeting between the two on that day or at any other time, let alone one involving sexual acts, the prosecutor said, referring to the story as a "web of lies".
Moreover, he had also sent the fake chat messages to two media outlets, both of which reported on the alleged sexual encounter.
Claimed billionaire status a lie
On his Instagram channel, the defendant presented himself as a billionaire heir leading a luxurious life with a fortune of 23 billion euros, the prosecutor said. In reality, he is a "nobody" who wears fake watches and has only modest income and no assets, possibly even debts, the prosecution argued.
In the trial, the 24-year-old also admitted that he has no other income or assets besides his earnings as a soldier. He lives with his parents and does not pay rent.
The defendant's falsified chat logs were also shared with two prominent media outlets, leading to sensationalized headlines. Despite his apparent wealth and luxurious lifestyle portrayed on Instagram, the media's investigations revealed his income and assets to be significantly less than claimed.
