Zlín region man defrauded acquaintance of over 374,000 crowns under pretence of cheap bricks
A forty-one-year-old man from a village in the Zlín region defrauded an acquaintance of nearly 375,000 crowns. He promised him cheap building materials, but used the money to pay off his own debts.
Bricks as a pretext: Zlín region man deprived acquaintance of hundreds of thousands
According to Novinky.cz, a forty-one-year-old man from a village in the Zlín region accused his acquaintance of delays in delivering bricks – but he had never actually placed an order. Detectives charged him with fraud, which carries a sentence of up to eight years' imprisonment if he is convicted.
The accused exploited the trust he had built up through previous collaboration on a house construction project. He assured the victim that thanks to his long-standing contacts he could obtain bricks at a more favourable price, and pressed him to make a quick reservation to lock in the price before it increased.
Based on these promises, the victim transferred a total of 374,600 crowns to him in three payments. The accused repeatedly assured him that he was processing the order and the material would arrive by the agreed August deadline. However, the bricks never arrived, even after several months.
"When the building material failed to arrive, the defrauded man began to verify the situation directly with the manufacturer and later also with building suppliers. There he discovered that no transaction had taken place, because no one had paid for the ordered material," said police spokesperson Monika Kozumplíková.
Until that point, the victim believed the delivery had simply been delayed – the accused had continued to communicate with him throughout. He only contacted police after discovering the truth.
The investigation revealed where the money had actually gone. "The accused did not use the money to purchase building materials, but to pay off his own debts and enforcement proceedings," said spokeswoman Kozumplíková. The matter took place from December 2024 to April 2025; a criminal report was filed before the end of last year.
Source: Novinky.cz