Telephone fraud targeting the elderly: felony from €1, up to 10 years in prison
Justice Minister Floridis announces legislative reform that will treat telephone fraud as felonies, regardless of the amount involved.
Floridis: Every telephone fraud a felony, even for one euro
The government is preparing a stricter penal framework for telephone fraud targeting the elderly, according to reports by Ta Nea. Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis announced that such acts will henceforth be treated as felonies, regardless of the amount of financial damage.
Speaking on Saturday morning on Action24, Floridis presented two parallel actions: the legislative reform expected to be passed in the coming days and the establishment of a specialist unit of the Hellenic Police to combat these crimes.
The new unit will be integrated into the so-called "Greek FBI" and its establishment had been announced by the Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis. "The state is doing two things," the Justice Minister stated, emphasising that the Hellenic Police undertakes the operational aspect, whilst the Justice Ministry proceeds with the reform of the penal framework.
Under the new provision, telephone fraud will be punishable by imprisonment of 8 to 10 years. The current regime provides for misdemeanour status for amounts below €120,000. "Now from one euro, in," Floridis clarified.
The Minister noted that the reform will include special aggravating circumstances, however the central change concerns the universal conversion of all such offences into felonies. In the event of conviction, imprisonment will be mandatory. "There is no possibility, if the court says 'guilty', that you will not go to prison. They will go and they will go for years," Floridis stated.
In closing, the Minister directed a stern message to the perpetrators: "I told them that the devil will take them, the devil will take them. That is all."
Source: Ta Nea