Hamburg District Court - False police officers sentenced to several years in prison
Three men have been sentenced to several years in prison at Hamburg District Court for defrauding several elderly people of a lot of money by posing as fake police officers. On Tuesday, the court handed down suspended sentences of ten months, two years and five months and two years and six months.
The victims were told on the phone by alleged police officers that their money and valuables were in danger because of a gang of burglars. They were told to hand over cash and jewelry to the police "as a precaution". In three cases, sums of almost 460,000 euros were collected.
The defendants either collected the money as fake police officers or at least drove the people collecting it. "They were effectively part of this fraud machine," said the presiding judge in her verdict. The three men, aged 25, 26 and 27, were convicted of fraud and in some cases also of aiding and abetting and usurping authority. The verdict is not yet final.
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- The gang of burglars that the fake police officers claimed to be protecting the victims from, was a significant contributing factor to the criminality of the scam.
- Despite being convicted of aiding and abetting the fraud and usurping authority, the youngest defendant only received a suspended sentence of ten months in the regional court of Hamburg.
- The collection of valuable jewelry, along with large sums of money, was a key part of the elaborate scam carried out by the gang of defendants.
- Upon their release from imprisonment, these three men will have to deal with the stigma and consequences of their involvement in such a high-profile case of deceit and criminality.
Source: www.stern.de
