Faking her own death King poodle convicts millionaire fraudster on Mallorca
Ina Z. fakes her death to escape justice. But in reality, the 51-year-old lives on Mallorca - until a picture of her dog on the internet becomes the German woman's undoing. Now she had to stand trial.
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- Ina Z. defrauded her former employer, where she worked from 2009 to 2019, of more than 2.3 million euros.
- When it came to court proceedings, the 51-year-old German woman feigned her death.
- But in reality, she lives on the Spanish island of Majorca - until a photo on the internet with her royal poodle becomes her undoing.
51-year-old Ina Z. is accused of defrauding her former employer, where she worked from 2009 to 2019.
According to the indictment, she repeatedly transferred large sums of money from the company account - allegedly to pay tax arrears. In reality, however, the money flowed into her own accounts or accounts controlled by the woman.
More than 2.3 million euros disappeared without a trace, writes "Bild". Only 216,292 euros actually ended up in the tax authorities' account.
When the woman was due to appear at a court hearing on the Spanish island of Mallorca in November 2020, her parents suddenly reported that their daughter had died in a car accident in Rostock, Germany, in March.
The company doubted the parents' statements
The defendant's sister Anne Z. then appeared at the scheduled court hearing and presented the judges with a forged death certificate.
The aggrieved company doubted the statements of the parents and the sister and subsequently commissioned a private detective agency. In the course of this investigation, the detectives came to the conclusion that the woman was living under a false identity in the town of Santa Ponça on Mallorca.
The investigators knew from photos on the Internet that Ina Z. was the owner of a giant poodle. However, these are not very common on Mallorca.
A man walking a poodle in Santa Ponça led the detectives to the house of the person they were looking for. The police were able to arrest Ina Z. shortly afterwards. The 51-year-old admitted her true identity.
Ina Z. deposits 1.55 million euros in damages
At the start of the trial yesterday, Monday, Ina Z. pleaded guilty according to the report in the "Mallorca Zeitung" and negotiated a deal with the judge in charge. This was confirmed by a court spokeswoman for the German-language weekly newspaper.
According to "Bild", the court in Palma de Mallorca agreed with the defendant on a suspended sentence of two years and seven months. The rather lenient sentence is said to have been reached partly because Ina Z. was able to deposit 1.55 million euros as compensation.
The defendant's sister, Anne Z., was sentenced to three months' probation.
