Former Taxi Driver Turned Millionaire

Boss of the “Police Mafia” Mocks Our Authorities

A flashy car and a villa in an upscale Istanbul neighborhood—a Turkish former taxi driver from Vienna lives in luxurious exile as the boss of fake police officers.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com (3x))

A Bentley, a villa, and a Rolex—a former taxi driver from Vienna, now living in luxury exile in Turkey as the boss of the “police mafia,” is mocking our authorities. His gang has already defrauded more than 2,000 retirees in Austria. The latest tricks: making calls posing as a prosecutor—or luring victims to public places by posing as “bank fraud investigators.”

It’s a game that’s as cunning as it is heartless, preying on people’s fears. For example, a wheelchair user in Vienna lost his entire life savings after following instructions from a supposed bank teller to move his money to safety from scammers. The man, who has limited mobility, was lured to a public square—just like in a bad TV kidnapping drama—where he was forced to deposit nearly 200,000 euros.

Scammers also pose as prosecutors to their victims
These cases—in which collectors no longer come to the victim’s home, but instead the victims are instructed to place money or valuables in a pre-designated trash can or under a car—are on the rise. Another new trick: a prank caller impersonates a prosecutor when contacting victims who have already been defrauded. They claim to have seized gold coins, cash, etc., from the first heist and are now coming by to collect them—while the alerted police mobilize and divert their forces, the fake police officers strike elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the “boss of bosses” with Austrian roots laughs at the powerlessness of our constitutional state from his luxurious exile in Turkey. Born in Vorarlberg, then a taxi entrepreneur in Vienna, the leader of one of the world’s largest fraud rings (nicknamed “Euro-Mehmet”) moved his operations—complete with his own call centers—to his Turkish homeland.

A flashy car and a villa in an upscale Istanbul neighborhood—a Turkish former taxi driver from Vienna lives in luxurious exile as the leader of a gang of fake police officers.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com (3x))

Millions in Loot and Rumors of Bribes
The haul so far is now approaching the 30-million-euro mark. The criminal case file against the former taxi driver here in Austria already runs to thousands of pages. Yet the hands of the domestic anti-corruption investigators at the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption are tied. While dozens of accomplices—dubbed “small fish”—have all too often been sentenced to harsh prison terms, the 37-year-old remains out of reach for Austrian authorities. Even countless requests for legal assistance have been to no avail...

Dozens of victims have already passed away
This could also be due to rumors of bribes. For instance, the alleged ringleader, in exile in Istanbul, boasts to a small circle of people that he offered the local prosecutor in charge two Rolex watches and 100,000 euros. There’s also a story circulating about a high-ranking official who, on behalf of “Euro-Mehmet,” had a backpack full of cash delivered directly to police headquarters.

Countless Austrian victims will likely never see justice. Nearly 40 victims of the “police mafia” have already passed away...