Two fake shop fraudsters convicted: 10,000 victims, millions in damages

When fraud occurs on the Internet, the perpetrators are often far away abroad, beyond the reach of the German justice system. Not so in this case: Two men in Rostock were sentenced to long prison terms after committing fraud on the Internet. The main perpetrator, an Italian, received seven years and nine months in prison, his German accomplice received five years and nine months in prison. According to the regional court, from November 2019 to December 2021 they operated 30 fake shops on the Internet and defrauded their customers of more than 4.3 million euros.

In the online shops, they offered goods at unbeatable prices against advance payment – from sporting goods to consumer electronics to DIY supplies. “However, they were neither willing nor able to deliver such products in response to customer orders,” said a court spokesman. The two 41-year-old men were only interested in making money to finance their luxurious lifestyle.

According to the court, the fake shops only existed for a few days or weeks. The two men managed to conceal their identities for a long time. They used false or fictitious personal information.

According to the court, at least 10,600 people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland fell for the two. The victims generally suffered damages of several hundred euros, but in individual cases even several thousand euros – a total of more than 4.3 million euros.

The two men were convicted of commercial gang fraud. The verdict is not yet final. According to a court spokesman, the fake shop proceedings took 83 days of negotiations. More than 200 witnesses were interviewed. On the 80th day, the defendants finally made confessions.

According to the spokesman, the court ordered to confiscate assets amounting to around four million euros from the two convicts as well as the high-quality technical equipment that they had used for their crimes.