It has been almost ten months since the Munich Regional Court I sentenced Alfons Schuhbeck to three years and two months in prison for tax evasion amounting to millions. Now things are getting serious for the now 74-year-old celebrity chef, who has hosted many celebrities throughout his life. The public prosecutor’s office in Munich I handed over the “summons to begin detention” to Schuhbeck’s lawyer this Friday morning. The lawyer, in turn, informed Schuhbeck.
As the public prosecutor said when asked, Schuhbeck would have to be imprisoned “in the next few days”. According to the Bavarian enforcement plan, the prison in Landsberg am Lech is planned. Uli Hoeneß, who was manager and president of FC Bayern Munich for many years, was also there for tax evasion. Schuhbeck often cooked for FC Bayern footballers and officials.
That won’t be the case anytime soon, at least not this season, which starts in the Bundesliga this Friday with FC Bayern’s game at Werder Bremen. But if Schuhbeck behaves well in prison, he doesn’t have to serve three years and two months by a long shot. Earlier release and partial release from detention are possible. A further complication for Schuhbeck, however, is that he has apparently not yet been able to settle his tax debts with the tax office. The restaurateur had evaded taxes in his fine restaurants “Orlando” and “Südtiroler Stuben” for years before the authorities caught up with him.
The district court in Munich, in turn, opened insolvency proceedings against Schuhbeck as a private individual at the beginning of July. Almost 30 creditors want money from him. One of the biggest creditors is the Treasury, which is said to be demanding a total of almost three million euros. That was ultimately the trigger for Schuhbeck’s personal bankruptcy.
The Treasury should not even be the star chef’s biggest creditor, with debts piling up in the millions. Schuhbeck borrowed a lot of money from private individuals. And they, along with all the other creditors, are now entered with their sometimes high claims in an insolvency report that is at the district court.
At the trial for tax evasion last October, Schuhbeck said he was standing in front of the ruins of his life’s work. This is how the star chef had appeared in court, where he made a confession after years of investigations against him. However, that came too late to secure a big bonus in court.
Schuhbeck is one of the most famous celebrities in Munich. In cooking clothes and alongside sports and TV stars such as the FC Bayern soccer players or Monika Gruber, he regularly filled the gossip columns in the press. He also appeared regularly with his programs on Bavarian television.
The chef initially blamed the corona pandemic for his problems
Schuhbeck’s descent began two years ago. At that time, several of his companies had to file for bankruptcy. The star chef blamed the state at the time. The corona lockdown was a death knell for the catering trade, said Schuhbeck. “Since the state aid that has been announced so generously has not come to me to this day, I have to file for bankruptcy for my company.”
In a press release, the restaurateur explained that he had hoped for state financial aid until the end, invested private money in his company and fought together with his team. “But now it’s over.” He had filed for bankruptcy at the Munich district court for his catering business at the Munich Platzl and his party service.
At that time, however, the tax authorities were already after him. Millions in debt to the tax office had already been mentioned at the time. All of which later came true.