March 29, 2024

Bern: Fake Ukrainian takes a large amount of money from pensioners

Berne

“lovable!” – Fake Ukrainian takes huge sum from 90 year old

A woman pretended to be a refugee for nearly 90 years and cheated him out of a lot of money. For this she was given a suspended sentence.

published

In a total of four meetings, the accused stole from the old men 19,000 francs.

20 minutes / Matthias Speicher

  • A Romanian woman pretended to an elderly man that she had run away and needed money for an operation.

  • In several meetings, she stole 19,000 francs from her seniors.

  • Prosecutors sentenced her to a suspended prison sentence for fraud.

the Berne Public Prosecutor A Romanian citizen found herself guilty of multiple fraud and fraud attempts. According to the criminal order, she pretended to a 90-year-old man that he had fled Ukraine. She told him that she urgently needed kidney surgery and was in a lot of pain. She also pretended that she needed money to buy an apartment and furniture.

The 42-year-old assured the old man that of course he would get the money back. Occasional expressions of sympathy like “Schatzeli” and “I love you” did the rest until the old man fell for the scam. In the four meetings in October 2022, I took a total of 19,000 francs from him. At another meeting at the victim’s apartment, the attempted scam still stands.

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Prison as a warning sign

The public prosecutor sentenced the Romanian to 180 days in prison. Imprisonment shall be suspended for a probationary period of two years. The 47 days the accused spent in police and pre-trial detention will be credited to her. The Public Prosecution justifies the imprisonment in terms of the woman’s financial situation. “Under no circumstances was it expected that a fine would be imposed.”

On the other hand, the decision has “special precautionary reasons”: with a view to “increasing the blame already” – the accused chose an old and frail man as the victim and proceeded very persistently – “a clear warning sign should be placed here”. This is only possible with a prison sentence – “especially since the accused knows very well that a fine can never be imposed.” However, she is billed for a smaller amount: she has to pay the procedural fee of CHF 2,800 herself.

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