Witnesses wanted

Police hunt a million-dollar fraudster with a TV team

A tricky criminal case is keeping investigators busy. The investigators are focusing on a million-dollar fraudster who had his headquarters in Burgenland. Grotesque: the perpetrator was acting under his real name. With the help of "Fahndung Österreich", the police are now hoping for decisive clues via TV.

The activities of this busy financial juggler have caused quite a stir. In the space of just one year, the businessman has carelessly caused more than 3.2 million euros in damage. The criminal jack-of-all-trades always followed the same principle: The perpetrator leased - apart from luxury pools - mainly high-priced vehicles such as trucks and trailers, but paid nothing back.

On the trail of the perpetrator
The accused pulled his strings from Vienna and Burgenland. He is also accused of account opening and fuel fraud. "The suspect obviously has no scruples, as he conducts his shady business using his real name and official documents. We are assuming that there will be further crimes and victims who are not yet known," said the investigators. A ServusTV team was on site.

More cases
The police are also asking for help in identifying an unknown body. The man was pulled out of the Danube near the Vienna Nordbahnbrücke bridge eight months ago. All kinds of jewelry he had been wearing were conspicuous.

Fake officers
A woman describes from her own experience how brazenly fake police officers operate throughout Austria. The latest scam: "First you get a call from a supposed bank employee who claims that someone has tried to withdraw money from your account using a fake ID. Then a supposed police officer contacted me and asked me to hand over all my savings so that he could keep them safe," reports the victim.

How you can protect yourself and what the million-dollar fraudster has up his sleeve can be seen today in the "Fahndung Österreich" program on ServusTV from 8.15 pm.