A 65-year-old Georgian was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison on Wednesday at the Feldkirch Regional Court for casino fraud. With accomplices, he had manipulated roulette wheels with magnets, among other things, and thus cheated casinos in Bregenz and Vienna out of a total of 32,000 euros, and Casino Lucerne (CH) out of 32,000 francs. The judgment is final.
Only two of the three coups could be proven against the Georgian himself – the one in Bregenz with around 6,000 euros in damage and the one in Lucerne. There, three of the crooks were arrested in a hotel and the money secured. For fraud in Vienna, the public prosecutor had accused the 65-year-old of having organized the trip and hatched the crime plan. However, there were a number of doubts about this, which is why he was acquitted of fraud in Vienna in the amount of around 26,000 euros.
The scammers’ actions were sophisticated. First, the croupier was distracted by dropping a bill and responding. Meanwhile, a cheater quickly moved the roulette ball to the number he bet. Another trick involved manipulating the roulette wheel with magnetic discs so that it could be manipulated from outside.
The 65-year-old confessed to Bregenz and Lucerne, which was taken into account as a mitigating factor. Equally mitigating was his previous integrity. To make matters worse, he acted together with accomplices. Casinos Austria AG was awarded the amount of damages from Bregenz. The man was sentenced to 18 months in prison, twelve of which were suspended. The judgment is final.
Source: Nachrichten
