52-year-old confesses to investment fraud with bogus forest project at Frankfurt Regional Court
A long-sought investment fraudster confessed at Frankfurt Regional Court to embezzling 583,000 euros from 70 investors using a fictitious forest cooperative.
52-year-old confesses to investment fraud with bogus forest project at Frankfurt Regional Court
At Frankfurt Regional Court, a 52-year-old man admitted to commercial investment fraud in a particularly serious case. The long-sought defendant had embezzled approximately 583,000 euros from 70 investors using a fictitious forest cooperative, as reported by Deutsche Presse-Agentur via ZEIT ONLINE.
Between March and July 2022, the defendant advertised the alleged "Baum Arche" through financial intermediaries across Germany. He promised high returns for supposedly sustainable investments in a forest in Havelland district. To build trust, he had a constitution, a website and brochures created. He also invented a fictitious case worker for email contact.
The alleged environmental certificate for the forest plot was obtained by the man from a provider who, according to the judge of the Large Criminal Economy Chamber, sold such documents without inspection. Several intermediaries later described him as convincing; they praised his presentations and the "good story".
The convicted man lived lavishly, purchasing luxury cars and expensive watches. At the end of July 2022, he fled to Italy ahead of investigators and was not apprehended until approximately two years later. He has a lengthy criminal record; in spring 2025, Frankfurt Regional Court imposed a prison sentence of four years and three months for money laundering.
The judgment in the ongoing proceedings is to be announced in early July.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)