Judgments pronounced

Family clan cheated for years with fake accidents

A family clan swindled insurance companies in Carinthia out of 100,000 euros.(Bild: Kerstin Wassermann)

Unemployed and heavily in debt: A Carinthian family clan cashed in on fake fender benders - until an insurance company raised the alarm! The judge was astonished by the fraud. The clan's game only worked so well because several insurance companies were involved.

"Statistically speaking, every driver is normally involved in an accident every 15 years - but you had 10 or 20 claims within three years," said Judge Michaela Sanin to the twelve defendants.

The five women and seven men are related, married or related by marriage, most of them unemployed and heavily in debt, some of them poorly educated and barely speaking German.

One family clan cheated insurance companies in Carinthia out of 100,000 euros.(Bild: Kerstin Wassermann)

One Mercedes was particularly hard hit. Eight cases of damage!

Richterin Michaela Sanin

Eleven convictions, but lenient sentences
For years, they swapped places as drivers in fictitious sheet metal salads in order to make money - around 100,000 euros. "One Mercedes was particularly tough," says Sanin in amazement. "Eight cases of damage!" The car had already been declared a total loss after the second crash.

But because many different insurance companies were involved, the fraudulent game went well for a while and only ended on Monday with confessions and lenient sentences. Eleven sentences of between three months and 18 months, one diversion.