Five men, aged between 21 and 26, have been sentenced at the Vienna Regional Court for posing as police officers to steal jewellery worth millions of euros in a sophisticated fraud scheme.

One of the men, aged 26, was sentenced to two years in prison for aggravated commercial fraud and involvement in a criminal organisation.

The other four defendants received sentences ranging from 15 to 21 months, which were partially suspended. All the men admitted their roles in the crimes and had maintained contact with the gang’s leaders via encrypted video calls during the incidents.

Victim of €2 Million Jewellery Theft

The fraud began in June 2023 with a 73-year-old woman, who was contacted by the scammers. They convinced her over the phone that a Romanian burglary gang was targeting her home and that the police needed to “secure” her jewellery.

Operating from a call centre in Izmir, Turkey, the fraudsters arranged a codeword with the woman. When one of the defendants arrived at her home and used the code, she handed over all her jewellery, which was valued at €2 million. Another defendant acted as the driver during the operation.

Other Fraudulent Activities

The gang also carried out other fraudulent schemes. In one case, a victim was tricked into withdrawing gold bars worth €300,000 from a safe deposit box and leaving them on her doorstep for the criminals to collect without ever meeting her. In another incident, a woman was told by the fraudsters that a “spy” was working at her bank. She was persuaded to withdraw her money and leave it outside her door, where it would be “secured” by a police officer.