The Nuremberg-Fürth district court has largely rejected the prosecutor’s charge against two men from the Upper Palatinate for alleged fraud with mouth and nose protective masks. As a spokeswoman for the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court (OLG) announced on Monday, the regional court did not see sufficient suspicion with regard to the allegations of fraud and only allowed one of the two men to be charged with forgery. The case also attracted attention because one of the accused is a local politician for the Free Voters – and his name appeared at the top of a list of suppliers by party leader and Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger. He was temporarily in custody.
According to the investigations by the Nuremberg-Fürth public prosecutor’s office, the men from the Neumarkt area are said to have sold around 2.5 million masks to the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) during the first corona wave in April 2020, almost half of which were not as agreed quality standard met. The men are said to have at least accepted that with approval. The masks were intended for distribution to civil protection facilities and clinics.
From the point of view of the district court, the indications of criminal activity in this context were not sufficient to suspect fraud that would make a conviction appear likely, the OLG announced. Among other things, according to the regional court, the rate of defective masks is lower and fraudulent intent cannot be proven.
The criminal court only admitted the charge against one of the two men for forgery. He is said to have used the company stamp and signature of a person responsible for another company without authorization. A date for the main hearing has not yet been set. The public prosecutor’s office can appeal against the decision of the district court at the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court.