The victims believed they had made an appointment via a dating app. Instead, fake officers appeared at their doors claiming to conduct investigations. The victims were then robbed of their debit cards along with accompanying codes and other valuable possessions. The public prosecutor spoke today in court in Arnhem of a cowardly way of scamming and took this into account in the sentencing requests against two suspects.
For a 35-year-old suspect without a fixed residence, the Public Prosecution Service demands a prison sentence of 8 years. This suspect has been convicted multiple times for exactly the same method of scamming. He was arrested last February and is still in custody. The reason for his arrest was a DNA match after the suspect - as a fake officer - ended up in a struggle with an 87-year-old victim in his home.
This suspect has, according to the Public Prosecution Service, made 33 victims in 8 months using this modus operandi. He has made over 70,000 euros by withdrawing money using the debit cards of his victims. The suspect has confessed to seven cases and has been recognized by victims in a significant number of other scams. One of the victims during a statement to the examining magistrate: At the first preliminary hearing, the suspect entered the courtroom, and it was immediately clear. I recognized him right away; he had been in my house.
A 40-year-old man from Arnhem has been involved in several cases. He was released from pre-trial detention last year after nearly two months in custody. The demand from the Public Prosecution Service: 12 months, of which 6 are conditional.
The suspects also contacted the victims via a chat site primarily for homosexual men. The public prosecutor stated about this: A large number of the men of advanced age had not yet come out. They felt double shame, and that shame was enormous in two ways. That they were scammed at all; but they also had to reveal a secret to their own partner, family, and environment.
This shame is so great that some victims consciously chose not to appear at todays hearing.
The public prosecutor further motivated his sentencing requests during the hearing for the multiple chamber in Arnhem: Moreover, these facts are also so serious for another reason. They touch on something fundamental, namely the trust that citizens - and particularly (vulnerable) elderly people - have in our society, in our rule of law, and in law enforcement, namely in the police that is supposed to protect them.
In addition to prison sentences, the Public Prosecution Service demands that victims receive compensation for their damages and also a non-material compensation of 1,000 euros per person.