Because of the accusation of money laundering, a 19-year-old from Hohenpeißenberg was now in front of the district court of Weilheim. An unusual case.
Hohenpeißenberg – Right at the beginning of the hearing, the defense attorney informed the court that his client admitted the allegations of money laundering at least "in objective terms". It was clear that the 19-year-old had sent a total of 36,022 euros to their accounts abroad last year, which had been captured by unknown persons through various scams.
As the Hohenpeißenberger described, he had come across a site in search of a way to do online banking, which had promised him a small additional income by simply transferring sums of money. A "win-win situation", the strangers with whom he had then come into contact had claimed. This convinced him at first, according to the young man.
Unknown persons put pressure on young man to transfer money
The strangers, who would later turn out to be fraudsters, had henceforth begun to put him – then still 18 years old – under massive pressure. Even in school lessons, he was contacted by them and asked to transfer the sums of money that now regularly ended up in his account.
"If I make shit, they'll get the money from me," the defendant said, describing the threats he was subjected to. "We know where you live," they said.
The defendant had not only provided the fraudsters with his mobile phone number, but also his identity card. In the course of six transfers made by the young man, the strangers were ultimately able to enrich themselves by over 36,000 euros. For the victims, the money was lost.
The Hohenpeißenberger did not think of fraud - police found out about illegal business
At first, he did not even think about the fact that it was fraudulent money and that he was thus liable to prosecution, said the Hohenpeißenberger. Since he did not have a regular income at that time and had nevertheless received and forwarded large sums of money several times, "the alarm bells soon went off," according to a police officer, whereupon the illegal business was discovered and the young man was questioned first as a witness and later as a defendant. Also, the injured had filed a complaint over time, said the police officer.
After all, the strangers wanted to persuade the young man to make a final deal, but he refused, it was said in court. In the case of the order, he was required to bring a package from Munich to Turkey by plane. "We'll pay you a week's vacation for it," the scammers allegedly promised.
Over time, his accounts were eventually blocked, according to the defendant. He had already wanted to break away from the business before, but this was difficult due to the pressure situation. For the individual transfers, which were sometimes five-digit amounts, he usually received only a low three-digit amount as a reward.
Public Prosecutor's Office applies "exceptionally once again juvenile criminal law"
Also due to his difficult past, "exceptionally juvenile criminal law" could be applied, according to the prosecutor. However, the "very crooked" processes and the "unusual behavior" of the strangers should have seemed strange to an 18-year-old, he said. He then demanded community service and applied for compensation.
His client was "very gullible," the defense attorney replied. He simply "didn't understand" it at the time. When he was finally aware of his tricky situation, "he couldn't get out" and "was afraid," according to the defender.
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Juvenile judge Franziska Braun ultimately imposed 48 hours of community service. She, too, was of the opinion that the 19-year-old should have become skeptical earlier. He was certainly under "immense pressure". "But he who closes his eyes is acting deliberately." Since the young man is now already "starting adult life with debts" due to the compensation, she had waived a monetary requirement, the judge explained.
By Florian Zerhoch