German gypsy clan defrauds dozens of people by selling fur coats and jewelry: “The target group was older people” (Turnhout)

The ball started rolling when one of the victims who filed a civil suit filed a complaint with the police for fraud. “My client saw an advertisement in the newspaper stating that people could sell their gold jewelry and furs between January 27 and 30, 2020,” began the victim’s lawyer, Nadine de Boer.

On January 30, the victim went to the Terminus hotel, where the alleged shopping sprees took place, with her jewelry and fur coats. “There were two men present there who were particularly interested in the jewelry,” De Boer continued. “They offered 2,000 euros for the fur coats and 400 euros for the jewelry. My client was persuaded and agreed.” A deposit of 400 euros was made; for the remaining 2,000 euros she had to return at 4 p.m. When she returned at the agreed time, the scammers were gone. The hotel indicated that they had already left earlier that afternoon.

Consistent pattern

The file covers multiple cases of the same scams that took place in the year 2020. The perpetrators consistently followed the same pattern by placing advertisements in the regional newspaper for so-called action days.

“The target group always consisted of older people,” continued prosecutor Catherine Dederen. “These people were then pressured to offer as much jewelry as possible in addition to those fur coats. That fur coat was then overestimated and the gold was underestimated and immediately taken away. The gold disappeared and the fur coats were mostly left behind in the various hotels.”

Research showed that behind these scams was a German gypsy clan, which was active not only in Belgium, but also in several other European countries. Numerous individuals, mostly older and elderly individuals, fell prey to these scams.

“Ultimately, a list could be drawn up showing that between January 27 and June 18, 2020, 14 similar advertisements had been placed in Belgium for shopping days at different locations,” prosecutor Catherine Dederen clarified. “The advertisements were always paid for in cash, and the advertiser could be traced back to the gypsy clan.”

Four defendants

Four defendants were arrested; on the one hand in the Novotel in Antwerp and on the other hand in the Europahotel in Ghent. The first defendant, AC, was in possession of 15,500 euros in cash. A bag containing coins, watches and the like was found in the trunk of his car. For AC, the public prosecutor’s office demands a prison sentence of 40 months.

DO faces an 18-month prison sentence, just like RG D. was found with 15,000 euros in cash. R. was also found with money, gold testers and other paraphernalia. Two vehicles worth 180,000 euros were found.

The public prosecutor demanded 20 months for the fourth defendant, SK. He was in possession of 3,000 euros in cash and all kinds of equipment for testing gold. A search found 157 fur coats and documents from a gold exchange office showing that a total of more than 53,000 euros was received from them in a month.

All four deny that it was fraud. “The advertisements were not deceptive. They simply announced that there would be shopping days. A price was proposed. The people were free whether they would accept that price.”

Verdict on April 24.