A man from Unterländer had shamelessly taken advantage of his boss’s trust and diverted thousands of euros from the cash register for himself.
“How do you, as a blameless person, suddenly take money out of the cash register illegally?” Judge Christoph Stadler wants to know from the defendant in the trial at the Feldkirch regional court. Especially since the 27-year-old was considered a good and reliable employee who enjoyed the trust of the management and was also responsible for cash register and billing in the gas station shop. In any case, the accused does not have a plausible explanation: It was just a huge stupidity, which he now very much regrets. The defendant denies the amount charged. Prosecutor Sarah Nenning accused him of defrauding his employer of at least 50,000 euros between September 2021 and September 2023 by scanning the customers’ goods, collecting the money in cash and then deleting the respective position in the cash register system. Which the unfaithful former employee also admits. However, he disputes the amount charged to him. “It was definitely significantly less than 50,000 euros.” Incidentally, the malversations were only noticed during an audit. When asked by Mr. Rat whether the invoices were always checked by a second employee or by the superior, the accused answered in the negative. Which explains why the 27-year-old was able to siphon off so much money over at least two years. The fact that the unfaithful employee is ultimately found guilty not of serious commercial fraud, but only of embezzlement, is also due to the lack of control. The verdict, which is not yet final, is: nine months in prison on probation and a fine of 3,900 euros. The man must reimburse the private party 47,000 euros within 14 days. The same amount will be declared forfeit due to intent to enrich oneself.
source site-12