crime
Million-dollar fraud involving supposedly valuable books uncovered
The criminal police presented facsimile books and other objects at a press conference in Gera. photo
© Bodo Schackow/dpa
Fraudsters have used the so-called facsimile scam for supposedly valuable books to specifically target older people and steal millions of euros. Now there has been a success in the investigation.
In the fight against a nationwide fraud involving supposedly valuable books Police succeeded. During several searches in November last year in Thuringia, Berlin and Brandenburg, six-figure cash, valuable watches and luxury cars were seized, among other things, said the head of the Gera criminal police, Michael Zimmermann, in Gera, Thuringia.
Arrest warrants have been issued against three men and one man is already in custody. These are the managing directors of companies through which the fraud was carried out. The most recent search took place on Tuesday in Berlin, said Zimmermann.
The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating two cases against 20 accused, said Thomas Riebel, press spokesman for the Gera public prosecutor’s office. Individual victims lost significantly more than 30,000 euros.
At least 115 victims
So far, 115 victims have been identified who have lost a total of at least 5.9 million euros to the perpetrators, said Zimmermann. Those affected in the current investigation complex lived in Thuringia, Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. The criminals acted systematically and sold facsimiles to the victims with the promise that they could use them to increase the value of their own collections.
In this case, facsimiles are replicas of books. According to the information, the perpetrators bought them for a low three-digit amount and sold them to the victims at a significantly higher price. They pretended that the books were significantly more valuable than they actually were.
Those affected are mostly older people who used to be customers of the “Bertelsmann Lexikothek” reference work. “The perpetrators acted in a group and divided the workload, using straw people and shell companies,” said Zimmermann. It is unclear how the perpetrators obtained the customer data.
The investigations were complex and the companies often changed names and bank accounts, it was said. The companies were primarily based in Berlin. A call center that the fraudsters are said to have used was searched. Riebel estimated that there were around 300 companies nationwide working with this scam. “We are dealing with a small section,” he said, referring to the current investigation.
First a call, then false promises
The process is always similar, said the responsible working group leader Steffi Glaß. The perpetrators contacted the victims by phone to ask about the book collection and whether they were selling it. Then supposed experts would be quickly sent to assess the collection. They explained, for example, that the value increases through expensive certificates, additional books or reports.
In some cases, those affected were also unconsciously made to enter into loan agreements in order to finance the alleged measures to increase the value of the collection. “The injured parties were repeatedly contacted and it was constantly suggested that there was value in the living room,” reported Glaß.
A success, but prevention work remains important
Zimmermann rates the investigative work as a success. Around 400,000 euros did not even go to the perpetrators. Around 600 form letters were sent to potentially injured parties. And: At least in the Gera area, similar scams have not been reported since then. The head of the Gera State Police Inspectorate, Matthias Zacher, also stated that there was hope for compensation for the damage for those affected.
However, the police and public prosecutor’s office had no illusions that there would be no more cases of fraud using the scam in the future. The conclusion is that the stitch remains, the objects change. That is precisely why it is important to provide information about the cases.