Man sells Mercedes and gets 12,500 euros counterfeit money for it
Created: 05/09/2022, 15:49
By: Thorsten Becker
Selling a car turns into a nightmare for a 35-year-old from Nidderau.
He's caught by a scammer.
Nidderau/Hanau – Everything is going as the 35-year-old L. from Nidderau (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) imagined this summer evening.
The interested party arrived with buddies.
He responded to the sale offer on the Internet.
The white Mercedes E 350 CDI is ready for a test drive.
The fact that "Erik Katz" only registered around 8:45 p.m. doesn't bother L. in the slightest.
“He said he would come after work.” In addition, Mr. “Katz” has a long journey to get from the Rheingau-Taunus district.
"We then did a test drive together." Then the two men reached an agreement.
The car is to change hands for 12,500 euros.
On the jaunt there is a stopover at a bank in Ostheim.
"He told me he had to withdraw money."
In the meantime, it was getting late on June 20, 2019, which L. will probably not soon forget.
It's getting dark.
"But the weather was very warm," remembers the Nidderauer.
Since everything has to be in order, the necessary forms are filled out on the trunk lid.
Then Mr. "Katz" takes a brown envelope and opens it.
"He counted it in front of me," says the salesman.
Keys and vehicle documents are handed over, the envelope changes hands – the contract is perfect.
Mr. "Katz" and his friends drive away in the white Mercedes, as reported by op-online.de.
The star is the trademark of Mercedes.
A private car sale has now ended up in court in Hanau.
(Iconic image) © Sven Hoppe/dpa/Archive
Nidderau/Hanau: Evil counterfeit money surprise in the home
A few minutes later, L. has a nasty surprise when he opens the envelope in his own four walls and takes out the 25 bills.
"It didn't glitter." The paper also felt different.
He quickly finds out that the nominal value of the 500 euro notes is correct.
But they are "blossoms" - counterfeit money apparently made with a copier.
"I didn't see the glitter stripe, he probably counted it from the other side," reports the victim at the lay judge's court in Hanau, chaired by district judge Judith Schlootz.
"And what happened next?" the lawyer wants to know.
L. is desperate: "I couldn't imagine that something like this could happen.
I didn't expect it.” Then he calls Mr. “Katz” and wants his car back.
But he stops him.
Finally, the Nidderauer reports to the police.
Nidderau/Hanau: Mercedes fraudsters face up to five years in prison
"And the gentleman in the dock?" Judge Schlootz wants to know.
"That's him," confirms L., who now knows more.
The defendant's name isn't "Katz" because he also gave wrong personal details on the contract.
And the victim of fraud has so far come away empty-handed.
He got neither the Mercedes nor real money.
He only has one certainty: the alleged withdrawal of money from the ATM was just as much a ruse as the signing of the contract and the money handover in the mild twilight.
In Nidderau, a car was paid for with counterfeit 500 euro banknotes.
Icon © Andreas Arnold/dpa
Now the jury is examining this case.
And the defendant has a lot at stake.
Because public prosecutor Martin Links accuses him of fraud and counterfeiting.
In particular, the production of "flowers" is severely punished by the law.
There is a risk of up to five years in prison.
Jennifer Pia Gehrke, Mr. "Katz's" defense attorney, also knows this, and immediately starts a charm offensive: "I know the file and I know what the evidence is," she says after the indictment has been presented and lays the cards open: "My Client doesn't want to go to jail."
Nidderau/Hanau: The accused has a relevant criminal record
That's an understandable wish.
However, it is unclear whether the public prosecutor – and ultimately the court – will fulfill this wish.
Because Links reminds the accused, who has so far remained silent about the allegations, and his lawyer of what "is brought here".
By that he means Mr. "Katz's" criminal record: one year and three months in prison, suspended on probation - for counterfeiting.
The process continues.
(Thorsten Becker
)
The last sensational lawsuit involving counterfeit money fraud was only a few years ago.
In 2020, three men were accused in Hanau because they are said to have circulated tens of thousands of "flowers".