52-year-old man charged

Simulated an eye condition and cashed in big time?

On Tuesday, a 52-year-old man was charged with aggravated commercial fraud at Innsbruck Regional Court. He is said to have simulated an eye condition and received a disability pension, among other things. Now an expert witness is needed.

The Serb, who lives in Innsbruck, and his defense lawyer vehemently and sometimes emotionally denied the fraud: "I suffer from glaucoma, a serious eye disease that can lead to blindness!"

More than 110,000 euros paid out
The public prosecutor accused the defendant of making false statements during examinations and of wrongfully receiving disability pension, care allowance and mobility allowance (more than 110,000 euros).

I have been in Austria for 40 years and have never been guilty of anything.

Der Angeklagte

The defense lawyer spoke of a "massive health impairment", yet his client still does "a little cleaning" in addition to his invalidity pension. However, he definitely doesn't see much anymore and is just making the best of it.

Defendant becomes emotional
The former professional driver emphasized loudly and emotionally that "I have been in Austria for 40 years and have never been guilty of anything". Now an expert is to assess the eye condition.