Public prosecutor's office - Fraud trial about drive amok: defendant did not appear
In the trial against a 54-year-old man who allegedly falsely claimed to be the victim of a drive-by shooting in Volkmarsen, North Hesse, the pleas of the public prosecutor and defense have been postponed. The accused did not appear at the hearing on Tuesday morning. As the Korbach district court explained, he is in hospital. A medical certificate was not available. Therefore, it is currently not possible to determine whether he is fit to stand trial or not.
The public prosecutor's office in Kassel now wants to have the 54-year-old brought to trial by means of an arrest warrant. A representative applied for a so-called session arrest warrant against him on Tuesday. The accused had already failed to attend the start of the trial two weeks ago without an excuse and was forcibly brought before the police by order of the judge. The trial is now scheduled to continue on December 11. If there is enough time, the verdict will also be announced on that day.
The prosecution accuses the man of having been in his apartment in Bad Arolsen on the day of the car attack and of having learned of the events from the media. However, he claimed to be an eyewitness to the rampage and a first responder to the Hesse accident insurance fund, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result. This is how the 54-year-old scammed himself out of treatment and money.
On February 24, 2020, a 29-year-old man deliberately crashed into the Rose Monday parade in the town of Volkmarsen (Waldeck-Frankenberg district), injuring almost 90 people, including 26 children, some of them seriously.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the accused received injury and sickness benefits of around 16,500 euros from the health insurance company. The accident insurance fund incurred further costs of around 33,000 euros for his inpatient treatment. The 54-year-old is also said to have tried twice unsuccessfully to obtain compensation for pain and suffering from associations that help road accident victims. He must now answer for three counts of commercial fraud, two of which are for attempted commercial fraud. The accused denied the allegations at the start of the trial and continued to claim that he was in Volkmarsen during the car attack.
Read also:
- Boxing coach gropes schoolgirl (19)
- 5 things you need to know on December 5: Israel, presidential debates, foiled terror attacks, border politics, floods
- The Hesse local court has postponed the pleas in the fraud trial involving a 54-year-old man from Germany, who allegedly feigned a drive-by shooting incident in Volkmarsen, due to his absence at the hearing.
- Despite missing the initial trial and a subsequent hearing, the public prosecutor's office in Cassel is currently seeking an arrest warrant to bring the accused before the Korbach district court, scheduled for December 11.
- The accused was initially missing at the trial's commencement two weeks ago without an excuse, subsequently leading to his forcible appearance before the police by order of the judge.
- Located in Waldeck-Frankenberg district, Volkmarsen experienced a car attack on February 24, 2020, led by a 29-year-old, resulting in injuries to nearly 90 people, including 26 children.
- Currently on trial for three counts of commercial fraud and two counts of attempted commercial fraud, the accused is under investigation for receiving injury and sickness benefits and additional treatment costs totaling around 50,000 euros due to his false claims of being an eyewitness to the Volkmarsen car attack.
Source: www.stern.de
