A 45-year-old man from Burgenland pulled off a particularly perfidious scam with seasonal workers. The man promised the 224 victims to take over their employee tax assessment, but bagged a total of 280,000 euros in tax office repayments himself. With another scam he made 220,000 euros.
The scam was reported in January 2022 by a 24-year-old Hungarian seasonal worker at the Saalfelden police (Pinzgau/Salzburg). The 45-year-old from Burgenland is said to have had the repayment transferred to his own account via the “FinanzOnline” tax office portal on behalf of the seasonal worker after the wage tax adjustment had been made. As the investigations have shown, the Hungarian was one of a total of 224 victims. The 45-year-old is said to have pulled the scam between March 2020 and April 2022, causing damage of around 280,000 euros. As an insurance agent, the man had the opportunity to create mobile phone signatures for the unsuspecting victims. The suspected fraudster is likely to have gained access to the online portal of the tax office on behalf of the guest workers. He previously spied on his victims on social media platforms. The man had the money paid into his account. Later he also paid several people 500 euros for giving him access to their account. First he obtained loans through a fake financial emergency, later he promised profitable investments in cryptocurrencies. The man from Burgenland gambled away most of the fraudulently obtained money through gambling and investments in cryptocurrencies. The man stated his gambling addiction as the motive. Those people who voluntarily gave him access to their accounts were reported for money laundering.
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