Fraud Case Against Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht Continues – Innsbruck Higher Regional Court Overturns Dismissal
The Innsbruck Higher Regional Court has overturned the dismissal of fraud charges against Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht. The actor must now face trial again before the Regional Court.
Innsbruck Higher Regional Court: Proceedings Against Ochsenknecht for Hotel Fraud to Continue
The Innsbruck Higher Regional Court has paved the way for a new trial against German actor Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht (34). As reported by BILD, the Higher Regional Court ruled on Wednesday in favour of the Innsbruck Public Prosecutor's Office's appeal and ordered the continuation of the fraud proceedings before the Regional Court in the Tyrolean state capital.
The Public Prosecutor's Office had filed a complaint against the dismissal of the case in March. The dismissal had been based on a so-called diversionary settlement: Ochsenknecht had agreed to pay a monetary penalty of 18,000 euros in six instalments of 3,000 euros each – which he did by March – and had also apologised to hotelier Wilhelm Steindl.
The Higher Regional Court nonetheless sided with the Public Prosecutor's Office. Court spokesperson Gregor Tögel told BILD: "The Senate of the Higher Regional Court decided that the defendant's sense of responsibility and the compensation rendered are insufficient to infer from this a sense of responsibility borne by an awareness of wrongdoing."
The background to the proceedings is a hotel bill for 13,827.35 euros for a birthday celebration at the "Sonne" hotel in Kirchberg, which Ochsenknecht failed to pay for years. At the end of June 2025, he was arrested at Hamburg airport and held in custody for 23 days. His ex-girlfriend Yeliz Koç (32) subsequently settled the debt.
In August of last year, Ochsenknecht had already been forced to face trial before the Innsbruck Regional Court for the first time. If convicted of fraud, he faces a custodial sentence of up to three years.
According to BILD's information, the Public Prosecutor's Office viewed negatively the fact that Ochsenknecht made no admission regarding the fraud allegation. His behaviour after the incident was also classified as questionable: he did not respond to reminders, court orders or legal notifications and referred to the hotelier on Instagram as a "cockroach".
No further legal remedies are available against the decision of the Innsbruck Higher Regional Court. A specific hearing date before Judge Heide Maria Paul is yet to be set.
Source: BILD