A Kochler (31) cheats the job center out of citizens' money. He receives a six-month suspended sentence. This isn't the first time he's noticed fraud.
Kochel am See/Wolfratshausen – “Could you say he was quite sloppy?” the judge asked the witness. “Sloppy is the right word,” confirmed the lady from the job center. The man in front of her in the dock bowed his head slightly sheepishly. The 31-year-old from Kochel am See had to answer for fraud before the Wolfratshausen district court.
It's not the first time he's attracted negative attention: There's a lot at stake for 31-year-old Kochler in court
He had received 1,038 euros more in citizen's money because he had failed to inform the authorities in March last year that he was earning his own money again. “I admit it, but it wasn't intentional, it just got lost,” the man insisted.
Because it wasn't the first time that he had to deal with the judiciary because of fraud, there was a lot at stake for the self-employed sales representative. He was most recently sentenced to a ten-month suspended prison sentence in 2021 for posing as a broker and defrauding people of the money he was supposed to invest for them. “He could turn 3,000 euros into 10,000 euros within a year,” the indictment said at the time. In fact, the defendant used the money to satisfy his gambling addiction. He was therefore under open probation in the new proceedings.
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Probation officer: “Sloppiness runs like a common thread through his life”
“I think he doesn't give it the importance it should have. And then it falls on his feet,” the probation officer gave his assessment of the accused and confirmed the court’s assumption: “Sloppiness runs like a red thread through his life. He is very careless with his finances.” But he sees no signs of “conscious criminal acts” in the 31-year-old, according to the probation officer.
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The defendant was lucky. While the prosecutor was clear: “Probation is no longer an option,” the court followed the defense attorney’s request, who considered it appropriate to show his client “the dark red card” in the form of renewed probation. Otherwise, not only would the perpetrator be punished, but also his wife and children. Judge Helmut Berger sentenced Kochler to six months in prison, but suspended the sentence for four years. The judge decided not to make any further orders, such as paying an additional fine, because he could not think of a suitable measure. “What can be imposed as a condition against sloppiness? I think we will reach our limits there.”
(rst)