The Vienna police announced this on Tuesday. The 32-year-old did not cooperate with the authorities after the suspended prison sentence was imposed and went into hiding. He is said to have made false promises regarding investments in Internet currencies, among other things. The damage is in the high six-figure range, and further victims are suspected.
The crimes known so far were committed in 2023, and the victims live in Vienna and Lower Austria. “The 32-year-old is said to have intentionally harmed his victims by making false promises,” said a press release from the Vienna State Police Directorate. He is likely to have tricked his victims into entrusting him with money that he wanted to invest for them through allegedly profitable investments in the area of internet currency or digital means of payment.
Money borrowed to buy luxury watches
The former professional athlete is also said to have borrowed money to allegedly buy luxury watches. The victims never received the money back, however, and the 32-year-old fobbed them off with various excuses. In January this year, the accused was convicted of fraud. He promised the authorities that he would cooperate, but then went into hiding. The man was supposed to have been questioned, but he broke off contact “and was not available to the authorities,” explained police spokeswoman Julia Schick.
The Vienna public prosecutor’s office therefore issued a European arrest warrant. The 32-year-old was finally arrested at the end of last month at an airport in Germany while he was attempting to leave the country, the spokeswoman reported. He is suspected of serious commercial fraud. No further details about the person were disclosed.
The investigators suspect a far higher number of victims than previously known. The Vienna State Criminal Police Office, Eastern Branch, Investigation Area 05 – Goldnagl Group, is therefore asking for relevant information (also anonymously) and for possible other victims to come forward. The telephone number is: 01-31310-62511.
