The Hamburg district court sentenced five men and women to long prison terms on Thursday. During the corona pandemic, they had received over three million euros in emergency aid without justification.
A Corona aid fraud is being negotiated in a Hamburg court.
“An almost perfect crime,” said the presiding judge. At the beginning of the pandemic, the accused quickly took over ailing companies and applied for emergency corona aid 80 times without justification. In order to cover up their own machinations, they used young, inexperienced men to pretend to be managing directors.
Leader receives ten years in prison
According to the indictment, they applied for more than twelve million euros. After they already had three million euros in their account, investigators became aware of them. They tapped their phones and collected evidence. The head of the gang, 35 years old and called “boss” in the phone calls, is now going to prison for ten years. The accountant who filled out the applications back then, for eight years. There are also prison sentences for two accomplices.
Defendants regret taking advantage of pandemic
They were all unaffected by the verdict. The gang leader’s wife gets off with a suspended sentence. In their last word before the verdict, the accused said they would be ashamed today to have used the pandemic for their own enrichment.
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NDR 90.3 | NDR 90.3 Current | 06/01/2023 | 13:00 ‘O clock
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