Prison sentence

German waiter (25) tricked hoteliers

The accused could soon be at large again.

(Bild: Chantall Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

He already has two previous convictions in Germany. Since Monday, the 25-year-old waiter has also been on record in Austria for aggravated commercial fraud, suppression of documents and theft. He was sentenced to a partial prison term of 15 months at the Feldkirch Regional Court.

In the summer of last year, the man had committed numerous fraudulent acts in hotels and hospitals in Austria, causing a total loss of around 24,000 euros. He spent the night and consumed in various hotels and enjoyed himself in a thermal spa.

He did this without paying a cent. He gave false email addresses and data to the staff. The accused also did not shy away from showing a foreign identity card. The 25-year-old presented himself at hospitals with false data and had himself treated for swallowing problems - although he would have been covered by social insurance himself in some cases.

The confusion over correct and false data was uncovered months later and the German was remanded in custody in Feldkirch prison at the beginning of January. In the course of the investigations, further crimes in Austria were attributed to the man.

Anesthetic stolen
He simply pocketed and used a purse he found in Innsbruck containing ID cards and credit cards. In the hospitals of Schwaz and Bludenz, the 25-year-old also acted as a thief. In Bludenz, for example, he stole the anaesthetic Propofol.

During the trial, the defense lawyer scattered roses over the accused. "My client is a straight Michel. He will confess and make amends for the damage."

Judge Alexander Wehinger also took a mitigating view of this in his verdict. However, the convicted man will only have to serve four months of the 15 months of partial imprisonment imposed. However, as the man has already been in custody for two months, he could be released after serving two thirds of his sentence. At best, he would then be released again in a month.