Convicted individual receives imprisonment sentence
The Kassel Regional Court is currently hearing a case against a 35-year-old defendant, accused of illegally issuing over 100 driver's licenses to buyers who had not taken the test. The defendant, who has already served two months of his prison sentence due to the long duration of the proceedings, confessed to his involvement in the fraud and admitted being a member of a four-person gang.
The defendant is said to have gained 56,500 euros through the fraudulent activities, which took place between February 2018 and June 2019. The gang earned between 500 euros and 5,000 euros per driver's license.
The defendant integrated further persons to set up a distribution network for his illegal business. Sub-brokers were used in some cases with the defendant's knowledge, and the distribution network acquired willing buyers and forwarded the required documents of the customers.
The presiding judge ordered the seizure of the amount of money taken by the defendant and a three-year ban on issuing a driver's license. Another alleged gang member is currently on trial for particularly serious bribery in 47 cases and incitement to falsify official documents in 44 cases.
Another suspect has already been convicted, according to the public prosecutor's office. The former employee of the driver's license office in Kassel was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison for his role in the illegal activity.
The defendant's first illegal action was issuing a motorcycle license and later a trailer license to an acquaintance as a favor. This favour led to the formation of the criminal gang, which operated until May 2019, when one of the members died in a motorcycle accident.
The verdict in the case against the defendant is not yet final. Another suspect, currently charged before the Kassel Regional Court, is accused of supervising part of the criminal gang that illegally issued driver's licenses. The trial continues.
