A 41-year-old man is facing trial in the Berlin Regional Court because he is said to have run a fake travel agency and cheated 80 customers out of their money. He is said to have advertised on the Internet that package holidays could be booked cheaply. After interested parties had commissioned him to make a booking and had paid in advance, the defendant broke off contact. He had swindled around 164,000 euros. The defense attorney explained that her client had merely opened accounts for people behind the scenes and thus assisted.
The man is accused of alleged fraud between the beginning of October 2021 and the end of June 2022. In some cases, the defendant actually booked trips, but later canceled flights and hotel stays and had the price paid out. The man was arrested seven months ago in his home country of Greece. He has been in custody in Berlin-Moabit since mid-March.
“Receive nothing from the proceeds of the crime”
The defendant explained that in 2021 he met people on an internet platform who had offered him a job at an airport. A meeting took place in Turkey. “They said I had to open three bank accounts and then they would reward me,” said the 41-year-old, who says he is illiterate. He was not informed about these people’s plans. He opened the accounts and gave the people the documents. Then contact with them was broken off.
The defense attorney said her client “received nothing from the proceeds of the crime.” During the trial, he named the alleged main perpetrators. The 41-year-old “believed what the people behind the scenes told him.” The trial will continue on September 30.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240906-930-225229/1
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