Fraud process
Woman paid millions to alleged clairvoyant
Lawyer Ömer Sahinci (m.) with his clients, an alleged clairvoyant accused of blackmail and his wife, who was also co-accused of blackmail. photo
© Matthias Balk/dpa
A woman is said to have paid more than a million euros to an alleged clairvoyant in recent years. Now the man is on trial.
For years he is said to have believed in the superstitions of a wealthy woman Exploited the woman and deprived her of a sum of millions: The trial began on Tuesday in the Munich II Regional Court against a man who posed as a clairvoyant and is said to have cheated the woman out of more than a million euros in recent years. The trial was interrupted immediately after the charges were read out because the defense lawyers wanted a legal discussion that could lead to a so-called deal.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 47-year-old played to his alleged victim that he was a medium who could bring blessings and keep shame away from her and her family. Accidents therefore became a kind of threatening backdrop.
Allegedly to prevent this, the defendant carried out mysterious rituals during which she had to pray. The investigators do not rule out that the water he regularly gave her contained substances that impaired the woman’s perception.
He is also said to have persuaded the woman that her husband was cheating on her and was having an affair. In order to prove this alleged infidelity, the man is said to have demanded money.
The 47-year-old is charged with 62 counts of commercial fraud. His 39-year-old wife is charged with 18 counts of aiding and abetting. The couple is said to have exploited the woman for years; according to the public prosecutor’s office, the first acts date back to 2011. However, only incidents since 2018 are accused.