False sales figures Aargau managing director convicted of Covid-19 loan fraud - prison sentence

A managing director from Seetal AG provided false information when applying for a Covid-19 loan. A court has now ruled that he must go to prison and leave the country.

A managing director from Seetal AG applied for a Covid-19 loan for his construction company in 2020 and provided false turnover figures. As a result, he received a loan of CHF 165,000, although the company's actual turnover was significantly lower.

The cantonal public prosecutor found that the company had received around CHF 133,000 too much as a result. The case was heard by the Kulm district court, where the defendant had to answer for the fraud. This was reported by the "Aargauer Zeitung".

The trial revolved around the false statements that the managing director had made in order to obtain the loan. Court president Christian Märki emphasized that the requirements for a Covid loan had been clearly communicated. However, the defendant, who worked in the construction industry, had claimed that his former business partner was responsible for the false figures.

This partner had disappeared after the loan application and could not be traced to this day. Nevertheless, the application form showed the signature of the defendant, who was the only authorized signatory at the time.

Also accused of assault

During questioning by the police, the defendant admitted that he had filled out the application himself. In court, however, he claimed that he had trusted his business partner and had not checked the figures. He explained that he had merely accepted orders and carried them out on building sites without undergoing any further training, the newspaper continues.

After receiving the loan, over 140,000 francs were withdrawn in cash from the business account within a month. The defendant was unable to provide any evidence of the use of these amounts. In October 2022, bankruptcy proceedings were initiated against the construction company as it was found to be overindebted. The defendant had already led several companies into bankruptcy in the past.

In addition to the allegations of fraud, the defendant was accused of assault. In 2023, there was an incident in a club in which he allegedly physically assaulted his partner. Video footage showed him slapping the woman and pushing her to the ground. The defendant denied the seriousness of the allegations and claimed that the woman could have injured herself to incriminate him.

Harsh sentence

After a brief deliberation, the court found the defendant guilty on six of the seven charges. The assault charge was dropped due to lack of evidence, as the victim did not provide any medical evidence and withdrew the complaint.

The defendant received a fine of 500 francs, a five-year ban from the country and a prison sentence of four and a half years, which was imposed on the basis of his previous convictions and his lack of insight.

The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.