Verdict for 18-year-old

Several luxury cars financed through fraud

The 18-year-old had bought a Mercedes GLC and an Audi R8 "on credit" to give to his girlfriend. (symbolic image)(Bild: Stephan Schätzl)

An 18-year-old entrepreneur's son from Linz had to answer for serious fraud at the Linz Regional Court on Friday. He was accused of causing a total loss of EUR 180,000 through loans and online fraud. He must now serve a total of 32 months in prison, the sentence is final.

The desire for quick money and wealth at a young age repeatedly drives teenagers and young adults into crime. However, this 18-year-old from Linz, who had to answer for his actions on Friday afternoon at Linz Provincial Court, would probably have had other options open to him. Nevertheless, he had obtained loans worth almost 120,000 euros from various banks using documents from his girlfriend's father.

Major damage caused
The total loss amounted to 180,000 euros. He had also used a credit card to buy goods worth 42,000 euros, but never paid for them, and he had maxed out the overdraft limit on several other accounts. He also collected money for goods that he offered for sale online but never sent. The young man used the fraudulent money to buy a Mercedes and even an Audi R8, a super sports car. The man had also wanted to buy a second Mercedes, a CLA, but had withdrawn from the purchase after receiving the keys and vehicle documents. However, he kept these for himself, which is why he also had to answer for the suppression of documents.

You attended the Aloisianum. Surely they were taught there that loans bear interest and that you always have to pay back more than you borrowed!

Die Richterin

From a wealthy family
The 18-year-old does not come from a poor background at all: his father is an entrepreneur, he himself attended the elite private Aloisianum grammar school in Linz and most recently worked as an office clerk. His defense was also based on this: "I ignored the debts and thought to myself, I can pay for it somehow," says the Linz native. "In the past, my father always paid my debts, so I just didn't think about it!"

My father has always paid off my debts in the past, so I didn't give much thought to how I could pay them back.

Der Angeklagte vor dem Landesgericht Linz

Not his first scam
In May 2023, the young man had already been convicted of serious fraud once before at Linz Provincial Court. At the time, he served a few months as a released prisoner. Just three weeks before his early release, however, he decided not to return and instead went into hiding with his girlfriend. He then ran out of money there, whereupon he started scamming again on a sales platform. "And then I slipped back into this megalomania, which had already been my downfall before," says the man with a criminal record.

Justification with ex-girlfriend
The young man also blamed his ex-girlfriend for his misdeeds: "She put a lot of pressure on me, always wanted expensive gifts, which is why I started cheating back then," said the convicted man. His new, current girlfriend was completely different, but he couldn't get rid of the pressure of having to give her presents. She felt that the expensive gifts were more of a burden, but still registered the cars because her boyfriend was a fugitive from justice and regularly drove to school in the Mercedes SUV, sometimes even in the super sports car. She also never questioned the expensive gifts because she probably assumed that the money came from the successful business of the father of the fraudster, who has now been convicted twice.

Multiple fraud
Due to the lack of insight and the relevant previous conviction, the sentence was correspondingly harsh: 20 months unconditional imprisonment, plus 12 months of his previous sentence, which would originally have been conditional, were now actually served. The 18-year-old will therefore have to spend 32 months in prison and will also have to pay back almost all of the damages.