The convicted fraudster really wants to stay in Switzerland. But it is clear to the court that she has to leave the country.
A young woman was given herbs by a “healer” to bathe with that were supposed to alleviate her suffering.
Annick Ramp
“It’s about being able to live here with my children and my husband,” replied the 30-year-old accused Austrian when asked by the senior judge what she wanted to achieve with her appointment. The lower court had sent her out of the courtroom with a six-year expulsion from the country. The appeal is only directed against this expulsion from the country.
She was sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of 21 months by the Zurich District Court in July 2023 for commercial fraud. The district court had therefore gone beyond the request of the public prosecutor, who had also only charged multiple counts of fraud. This is an important difference: commercial fraud is a so-called “catalog act” with mandatory expulsion from the country, whereas multiple fraud is not.
The woman has a relevant criminal record and was convicted of fraud for the first time in September 2018, for exactly the same scam. She committed the new crimes during the probationary period of a suspended fine of 180 daily rates of 50 francs each.
Victims addressed in the church and in Migros
In autumn 2019 and summer 2020, the Austrian woman, who has a B residence permit in Switzerland, defrauded two people. She stole 18,000 francs from a mentally ill woman and 33,000 francs from a pensioner who was 85 at the time of the crime. For a further 17,000 francs, the attempt was stopped because an attentive bank employee refused to pay the victim any more money.
In October 2019, the accused spoke to a young, mentally ill woman in front of a Migros branch in Zurich who had suffered from panic attacks and schizophrenia since she was a teenager. According to the prosecution, the accused recognized the woman as an easy victim because of her uncontrolled twitches, a fixed gaze and great reserve.
The Austrian said she was a healer, had psychic powers and could help her. She gave the young woman medicinal herbs to bathe with and promised to pray for her regularly. A few days later, she lit a candle in a park and prayed to God that the demons would leave the young woman alone. She wrapped a raw egg in a cloth and pressed it against her victim’s chest, breaking it. The meetings always ended at ATMs, where the young woman withdrew and handed over cash.
The pensioner was approached by the perpetrator in July 2020 in the St. Gallen collegiate church. The Austrian said she needed money for chemotherapy for her daughter, who was suffering from cancer. The churchgoer went to a bank counter that same day and withdrew 10,000 francs in cash. There were further meetings and money handovers. However, the accused was arrested in November 2021 and was imprisoned for 41 days.
“Austria is not on the moon”
During her questioning in the high court, the fraudster stated how sorry she was for everything. She has been married to a Swiss man since August 2024. She brought two school-age children from another relationship to Switzerland in autumn 2022, where they go to school. She currently works 100 percent in administration in the hospitality industry.
The Vienna-born woman complains that it would be “unimaginable” for her to return to Austria. She is tied here and wants to live here with her family. “But Austria is not on the moon,” says court chairman Christoph Spiess dryly. But she also has family and relatives, several cousins, uncles and aunts in Switzerland. The child’s father is a Serbian citizen and lives in Serbia. Her current Swiss husband was also born in Serbia. The children speak Serbian and German.
She knows that she has made mistakes in the past that she regrets and would undo if she could. She learned during her 41 days in prison. She also emphasizes that she has made restitution to the victims and paid back all the amounts that were lost. She didn’t need the money and spent it on parties.
A judge wants to know why she didn’t learn anything from her previous conviction. “I don’t know,” is the answer, “I was in a difficult, depressive phase.” She wants to leave her past behind and now only sees the future in Switzerland ahead of her.
Significant interest in keeping women away
As in the two previous court hearings, she openly admits the accused acts. Your defense attorney is requesting a sentence of 12 months in prison for multiple counts of fraud and a waiver of expulsion from the country. He claims that it is not a case of commercial fraud, that the woman did not need the money at all and that the time required for the crimes was very manageable.
But the chief justices will not be softened. They confirm the lower court; there is another expulsion from the country for 6 years. The 21-month prison sentence for commercial fraud is given conditionally with a probationary period of 4 years. According to federal court practice, it is a clear case of commercial activity, emphasizes Judge Spiess. The fact that the accused didn’t need the money at all is irrelevant. With the fraud she earned an additional income of several thousand francs a month.
She influenced her victims at a relatively high rate and used a really “nasty trick”, and not for the first time. She specifically looked for mentally unstable women and specifically went to a church where such people could be found. The expulsion from the country is mandatory. And such a thing is reasonable for the woman.
Ultimately it’s a question of whether her husband will go with her or not. It is clearly not a personal hardship. And Switzerland’s interest in keeping women away is significant. It wasn’t a trivial matter, but a really nasty act against weak victims. In the case of crimes that are socially harmful, there is a considerable interest in keeping them away.
Judgment SB230557 dated October 4, 2024, not yet final.
