As of: March 28, 2024, 8:45 a.m
By: Ulrike Osman
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Last week it was all about fake fifties at the Landsberg lay judges' court. © ECB
The Landsberg lay judges' court has had to deal with counterfeit money again and again - there have been three cases in the last few months. What plays a role here is that it is easy to order flowers online. A 45-year-old also did that and ended up in the dock - and was acquitted.
Landsberg - At the end of November 2019, the roofer who lives on the western shore of Ammersee ordered the counterfeits on a shopping platform - 100 pieces for a total of five euros, including shipping from China. His daughter, who was five years old at the time, had a store with a gaming cash register. “I ordered the money to play with my daughter,” explained the defendant.
As the child grew older, the store became uninteresting. The man gave the gaming fund away to his partner's family. “I had completely forgotten about the notes,” he said in court. One part was broken during the game anyway. The remaining flowers, marked “Prop Copy,” sat in a wallet in the living room closet for years.
They would probably still be there if the police hadn't come to search them last August. The background was a breach of maintenance obligation towards the child's mother, who lived separately from the father. The officers searched for cash and valuables and came across counterfeit money.
Since the daughter did not live with her father and there were no toys in the apartment, the police did not believe the man's explanation. “The bills looked like new,” an investigator reported on the witness stand. The defendant explained that he only gave his daughter a few at a time. His partner confirmed the information. She also stated that she had completely forgotten about the counterfeit money. Possession is only punishable if you intend to market the flowers - which was obviously not the case with the defendant.
However, anyone who pursues “unfair intentions” is made far too easy, criticized the presiding judge Alexander Kessler. Anyone can order counterfeit money “in bulk” on the Internet and distribute it to the people when the opportunity arises. In a dimly lit club, when there is a lot of activity at the supermarket checkout or in the beer tent at Oktoberfest, the markings on the bills are easy to miss.
In the case of the defendant, however, the jury had no doubt about his innocence. His statements were understandable, said Kessler. The public prosecutor was also convinced by the 45-year-old's "consistent description" and pleaded for acquittal - a request that defense attorney Patrick Freutsmiedl naturally agreed with.