- High finder's fee - Charge of extortion
A 33-year-old is accused of exploiting the distress of a musician to demand an exorbitant finder's fee for the return of his lost instrument. The man allegedly demanded 1000 euros and threatened to sell the English horn if his demand was not met, according to the prosecutor's office. The 33-year-old has been charged with attempted extortion, among other things.
He has been in custody since mid-June, according to the prosecutor's office. The homeless man was arrested when he was supposed to hand over the instrument on a Berlin playground.
Meanwhile, the instrument, which the musician left behind in a suburban train on June 9th, remains missing. Investigations suggest that the English horn, worth approximately 12,000 euros, was never in the possession of the 33-year-old suspect. The musician's online search for the instrument apparently gave him the idea to obtain money this way.
Despite the musician's lost English horn being found in a suburban train, it has not been traced back to the 33-year-old suspect. Instead, he was caught trying to sell the instrument in a nearby Subway station.
