“… those who lack the wit to live honestly.”
B. Franklin
Fraud (Betrug) is a criminal offense consisting in taking someone else’s property, or acquiring a right to someone else’s property, by deception or abuse of trust. Surely we can all agree that fraud can take many different and sometimes utterly unconventional forms. History knows highly sophisticated and cunning cases in which offenders possessed particular talents and skills that allowed them to masterfully carry out complex schemes to appropriate other people’s property. One of these “especially talented representatives of the criminal world”, who fooled those around him for a long time, George Parker, even managed to “sell” the Brooklyn Bridge several times. He was one of the most audacious con men in American history. He made his living by selling New York landmarks to unsuspecting tourists. His favorite object was the Brooklyn Bridge, which he sold twice a week for several years. Parker assured buyers that they could make a fortune by controlling access to the landmark in question. Police repeatedly had to remove naive buyers from the bridge who were trying to put up toll barriers. Other public landmarks Parker “sold” included Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum, Grant’s Tomb and the Statue of Liberty. George used a variety of sales methods. When selling Grant’s Tomb, he often posed as the famous general’s grandson. He even opened a fake office to carry out real estate fraud. He produced forged documents of impressive “authenticity” to prove that he was the lawful owner of every property he offered for sale. Parker was convicted of fraud three times, and the third time, on December 17, 1928, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Sing Sing prison. There he became extremely popular among the guards and fellow inmates who had heard of his “exploits”. They even made their way into American popular culture and gave rise to the well-known saying: “If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.” These words are aimed at overly trusting people who will do anything to get rich.
Unfortunately, cases of skillful fraud occur more often than one would like in modern life as well. Criminal law is one of the main practice areas of our law firm. Our criminal defense lawyer represents clients’ interests — in this case, people who have broken the law — at the stage when criminal proceedings are opened and during the investigation (Ermittlungsverfahren), as well as in court proceedings, at sentencing and on appeal. The lawyer’s main task is to protect the client’s rights and legitimate interests regardless of the seriousness of the offense committed. If the accused has in fact committed an offense, the lawyer’s task is to obtain a fair sentence proportionate to the act, with full respect for the rights and freedoms to which the accused is entitled. In this article we would like to describe one such case of defending and protecting a client’s legitimate interests.
The story of the client who came to us for legal help — let’s call him Stanislav — involves several sets of offenses, in each of which our lawyer took part in the defense in the criminal proceedings. The offender proved extremely inventive and never tired of devising new “effective” fraud schemes. What did they involve?
First Case: Forged Postal Receipts for Returned Goods
The first scheme was carried out by deceiving online shops. Stanislav ordered various goods from online shops to his home and then exercised the consumer’s right to return goods within fourteen days of purchase. He forged postal receipts that supposedly proved the goods had been properly sent back to the online shop. In reality, our client kept the goods and for a long time successfully obtained refunds from various retailers for goods that had never been returned. Whenever sellers complained that the goods had not in fact arrived, Stanislav presented forged postal receipts bearing a stamp that the fraudster had had made in Russia from an imprint. This scheme worked successfully for several years until the offender was caught by the police, who discovered that the postal documents had been forged.
Second Case: Theft of Bamboo Furniture From a Warehouse
The second scheme also brought the offender a considerable income over a long period. He took a job with a company that sold bottled drinking water. Stanislav’s main task was to fill bottles of various sizes with water. As it happened, the company’s production premises adjoined the warehouse of another company that sold high-quality bamboo furniture. The hero of our story did not miss his chance here either: after his shift, he sneaked into the furniture company’s warehouse, opened the doors from the inside and then, with the help of accomplices, carried out valuable furniture, which was then taken by truck to a small storage unit. When the furniture company’s management noticed the ongoing loss of furniture, surveillance cameras were immediately installed in the warehouse. But even that did not help — Stanislav’s group continued to steal valuable furniture with great skill and even set up online sales of the goods, which later helped the police catch them. The source of the stolen furniture sales was traced, and the accomplices were exposed.
Third Case: Tools in Wastewater Barrels
The next set of offenses involved the theft of expensive construction machinery and tools at a building supplies market. With the help of “colleagues”, Stanislav stole tools at the market over quite a long period and hid them in barrels intended for collecting wastewater. After trading hours, when the stalls had closed, he came back with his accomplices to collect the rich harvest gathered in the barrels. The tools were then sold on the black market, which once again allowed our client to live in the lap of luxury for a while — but nothing lasts forever, and after some time this scheme, too, was uncovered by the local police.
Fourth Case: Loans Taken Out With Stolen ID Documents
The last set of offenses, which ultimately led to our client being sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment, involved fraud through unlawfully taking out loans with stolen identity documents. Together with the same accomplices, Stanislav stole wallets from unsuspecting people in shops and on public transport. In addition to keeping the cash inside, whenever a wallet contained identity documents, Stanislav used them to buy household appliances and computer equipment on credit. For a while these schemes also allowed a carefree life, until they came to the attention of the law enforcement authorities.
The Lawyer’s Work: From Fines to Eighteen Months in Prison
It should be noted here that under German law fraud is a criminal offense punishable under § 263 StGB (German Criminal Code, Strafgesetzbuch). Under this provision, the penalty may be imprisonment of up to five years or a fine. Thanks to the competent work of our firm’s criminal defense lawyer, Stanislav avoided a prison sentence when prosecuted for the first three fraud cases uncovered. By relying on mitigating circumstances, the lawyer ensured that the punishment was limited to fines. In the last of the fraud cases, involving loans taken out with other people’s identity documents, the lawyer once again represented the client’s interests. In this case, even though the judge himself described Stanislav as a talented and inventive person, a prison sentence could no longer be avoided. Thanks to the efforts of our firm’s lawyer, the sentence was limited to eighteen months’ imprisonment.
What is remarkable about this story is that the rather substantial fortune Stanislav amassed during his criminal career, amounting to around 250,000 euros, was spent on expensive pleasures such as dining at exquisite restaurants, buying expensive clothes and accessories, and traveling to costly resorts. Unfortunately, it often happens in life that the talents and gifts a person has could have been used far more sensibly, and with less harm to others, than the gifted person actually uses them.
Conclusion
According to the basic principles of professional ethics, a lawyer defending a client should not pass personal judgment or draw conclusions about the morality or immorality of the actions of clients who have entrusted the chosen lawyer with defending their interests. In our work, we strive to exercise the greatest possible restraint and to defend those who come to us for help professionally, always following the letter of the law and the interests of our clients. We wish all our clients and readers to encounter fraud only in non-fiction and novels. However, if you have fallen victim to a fraud scheme or are yourself facing criminal charges, we invite you to a consultation at our law firm, where our lawyers’ professional experience can help find a way forward even in a seemingly hopeless situation.
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