A former Berlin police officer is on trial for fraud in the Berlin Regional Court. The 37-year-old is accused of offering rental apartments that didn’t actually exist, thereby obtaining sensitive data from prospective tenants. He allegedly misused this data and defrauded them of a total of around €320,000.
The public prosecutor’s office has charged the former fraud prevention officer with three offences related to crimes committed between September 2021 and September 2024. At the start of the trial, the defence attorney announced that his client would confess at a later date.
The defendant allegedly repeatedly advertised non-existent apartments online. He also impersonated employees of Berlin property management companies, which did not exist. “Due to the tight housing market, there were numerous expressions of interest,” the public prosecutor’s office stated. According to the indictment, the man used the money he obtained “for his lavish lifestyle”. The trial is set to resume on August 13.
