False courier arrested in Liberec: investment fraud totalling over two million crowns
Liberec detectives have apprehended a 23-year-old foreigner who, posing as a courier, collected money from a victim of investment fraud. The woman handed him over two million crowns in total.
Liberec police halt million-crown investment fraud, courier remanded in custody
Liberec detectives apprehended a 23-year-old foreigner on 7 October who, acting as a courier, collected cash from the victim of an investment fraud scheme. Over the course of several meetings, the woman gradually handed him over two million crowns. During a fourth attempted transaction, she contacted police, who apprehended the man during the handover.
According to liberecka.drbna.cz, the case was described by police spokesperson Iva Martínková: "In recent years, we are increasingly encountering crime perpetrated in the virtual environment, and people entrust their often lifetime savings to the hands of fraudsters."
An unknown person contacted the injured woman by telephone and e-mail and persuaded her to make advantageous investments. The woman then repeatedly handed envelopes containing cash to the courier, who deposited the money into cash machines. He was promised financial compensation for this service.
"After the woman had handed an envelope full of money to the courier three times and had seen no investment returns or investment account with high yields, she decided to contact police on the fourth occasion. Police subsequently apprehended the courier and prevented the handover of the money," Martínková stated.
The day after his arrest, on 8 October, detectives initiated criminal proceedings against the man for fraud in the form of complicity. The spokesperson did not rule out that the prosecution would be expanded to include further charges. Two days after his arrest, on Friday 9 October, the District Court in Liberec remanded the courier in custody — there was reasonable suspicion that he would continue his activity or flee abroad. The man now faces a prison sentence of up to five years.
Martínková also recalled a similar case from last spring, when Liberec detectives likewise apprehended a courier of foreign nationality and prevented the handover of 650,000 crowns. In that case, the victim had managed to hand the false courier over one million crowns in total in the preceding days. A state prosecutor at the District State Prosecutor's Office in Liberec filed charges against the 21-year-old foreigner last month.
According to the spokesperson, these sophisticated fraud networks always involve at least two accomplices with clearly divided roles. One communicates with the victim, creates a false impression of advantageous investment and instructs couriers. The other physically collects cash and passes it on or deposits it into cash machines.
"Do not fall prey to seemingly advantageous job advertisements offering quick and easy extra income in the form of delivering questionable packages or making financial transfers through your bank account. You can very quickly become part of a crime. Laundering the proceeds of criminal activity, even through negligence, is a criminal offence!" Martínková warned the public.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)