Criminal network defrauded elderly of 28 million – trial begins in Oslo
An organised group of eleven people, including five Danish citizens, will stand trial in Oslo accused of tricking approximately 150 senior citizens into transferring a total of 28 million kroner.
Criminal network defrauded elderly of 28 million – trial begins in Oslo
On Monday, Oslo District Court opened a comprehensive criminal case against eleven men and women whom the prosecution believes operated a large fraud network targeting the elderly. The main proceedings are scheduled to last until 20 March.
The defendants, who are between 20 and 30 years old, are charged with aggravated fraud and money laundering. The prosecution believes they tricked approximately 150 people, mainly retired women, into handing over a total of 28 million kroner. The fraud is believed to have been ongoing from autumn 2023 to autumn 2024.
The tactic involved calling the victims and posing as if they were calling from the police or a bank. They told the elderly person that their account was under attack and that they needed to transfer their savings to a "safe account" to protect them. In this way, they got victims to transfer their own funds to accounts controlled by the network.
According to the prosecutor, state prosecutor Ingelin Hauge, the operation was conducted as a professional enterprise. The group is believed to have set up temporary call centres in rented apartments and hotel rooms, both in Norway and abroad. The calls were made from cities such as Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Málaga. They used hijacked telephone numbers, pre-written scripts and lists of selected targets to carry out the frauds.
Over the course of one year, the group is believed to have called over 90,000 Norwegian numbers.
Five of the suspects held in custody in Norway have Danish passports. Investigators in Norway have worked closely with police in Denmark, Finland and Britain to unravel the case.
According to NRK, some of the suspects may have connections to the Copenhagen gang Loyal to Familia. The defence lawyers for those involved have denied any such connection.
Police prosecutor Torjus Lundevall told NRK before Christmas that the 11 are likely part of a larger environment and that calls have also been made to people in other countries, including Finland.
This article is based on information from Finansavisen.
Source: Google News NO — Crime