Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Because he cheated a good-natured pediatrician out of plenty of money, a man was sentenced to four years in prison by the Frankfurt Regional Court on Friday for commercial fraud. The court assumed 59 individual cases in which the doctor concerned had paid the 38-year-old fraudster up to 45,000 euros in individual cases. Overall, it was about damage of almost 600,000 euros swindled loan that the man never repaid. The case against the co-accused wife (34) was separated because of her pregnancy and is to be conducted later. The doctor had already treated the woman as a child and therefore placed special trust in her, as he said as a witness in court.
Between 2015 and 2018, the defendant regularly exploited the victim's "helper's syndrome of almost pathological proportions" with very different excuses. At first there was talk of the need for money for fertility therapy, but later other costs were argued for. The "collateral" mentioned by the defendant - supposedly valuable carpets, jewelry and gold bars - also turned out to be fabricated during the investigation. Eventually, the doctor filed a criminal complaint.
The doctor had not taken the money from his own assets, but had taken out loans for it. "The man is on the brink of extinction. Abandoned by his wife, he now has to work until he is 70 to pay off the debt," said the presiding judge. All of this must be included in the sentence. The defendant made a confession in court. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
