72-year-old Kesb advisor from Zurich diverts over 300,000 francs
Image: KEYSTONE
On Friday afternoon, the Zurich District Court sentenced a 72-year-old accountant to a conditional prison sentence of two years, with a probationary period of four years. As a Kesb supporter, the Swiss diverted over 300,000 francs for his own purposes.
“An advisor should actually help a helpless person,” said the judge at the opening of the verdict. The convict saw his death differently for more than three years.
From 2016 to 2019 he worked for the Child and Adult Protection Authority (Kesb) as an advisor to an elderly man and in this capacity was supposed to regulate his financial affairs. Instead, the accountant diverted a total of 316,000 francs to his own account.
23 wrong invoices created
He began this calculation while his client was still alive. But even after his death, money still flowed into the account of the deputy. In order to simulate legal use, he created a total of 23 false invoices on his home PC, with notes such as “evacuation”, “cleaning” and “burial”. From this he created an accounting, which he then submitted to the Kesb.
The convict also served in another honorary position: as cashier of a Zurich neighborhood association, he diverted another 22,000 francs. The pensioner himself cannot explain why he became a criminal.
He had violated all ethical principles that had always been sacred to him before, he said during the trial. At the same time, he promised that he would never again accept an office or manage a fortune. Therefore there is no risk of relapse.
He pays everything back
The district court accepted his remorse. The court also assessed the fact that he had already admitted everything during the third interrogation as positive. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for multiple embezzlement and multiple forgery of documents, with a probationary period of four years.
The stolen money will pay back in full. Because of a house sale he is now able to do this. In this way, the sister of the deceased and the neighborhood association get everything back. For the court, a “rare case of concrete compensation”.
The verdict is not yet final, but neither side should have an interest in taking the verdict before the Supreme Court. (aeg/sda)
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