Bern: Fake Ukrainian takes huge sums from pensioners

die Bern Public Prosecutor A Romanian citizen has found himself guilty of several frauds and attempted frauds. According to the sentencing order, he pretended to a 90-year-old man that he had fled Ukraine. She said she needed urgent kidney surgery and was in severe pain. She also pretended to need money for an apartment and furnishings.

The 42-year-old assured the man that he would definitely get the money back. Occasional expressions of sympathy such as “Schatzeli” and “I love you” remained, causing the old man to fall for the scam. In four meetings in October 2022, she took a total of 19,000 francs from him. In another meeting at the victim’s apartment, there was an attempt at fraud.

Prison as a warning sign

The prosecutor sentenced the Romanian to 180 days in jail. Execution of the prison sentence is suspended with a two-year probationary period. The accused will be given credit for the 47 days she spent in police and pre-trial custody. The public prosecutor’s office argued that the woman’s financial situation justified the prison sentence on the one hand; It “cannot under any circumstances be expected to be penalized”.

On the other hand, there are “special preventive reasons” for this decision: considering the “already aggravated crime” – the accused chose an old and weak man as a victim and continued very diligently – “a clear warning signal should be set here.”. This is possible only with a prison sentence – “especially Knowing full well that the accused cannot be fined”. However, she is charged a small amount: she herself must pay a processing fee of CHF 2,800.