Theft Federal Supreme Court overturns Fribourg cantonal court ruling

The Federal Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of a man who had been sentenced to partial imprisonment in the canton of Fribourg for a property offense. The lower courts had wrongly assessed the case as a gang-related offense.

The cantonal court based its assessment on the fact that the appellant had already been involved in three similar cases in the past. The Federal Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the Fribourg judges should not have used these three cases for their assessment. This was because the complainant had not been convicted in any of these cases. His involvement could therefore not be regarded as proven.

The Fribourg judiciary had thus violated the presumption of innocence, according to the ruling published on Thursday. The Federal Supreme Court also did not allow the qualification of gang-like behavior to pass.

The Federal Supreme Court emphasized that various conditions must be met in order to qualify as a gang. For example, it had to be clearly demonstrable that the perpetrators had joined forces with the intention of committing several independent crimes. The commission of possible similar crimes is not sufficient. Following the Federal Supreme Court's ruling, the case will now be returned to the Fribourg Cantonal Court for a reassessment.

In 2015, the complainant and an accomplice convinced a couple to invest in a company in return for a commission of CHF 350,000.

At a first meeting, the couple only had to show the money. According to the perpetrators, the money could remain with the couple for the time being until the deal was perfect. The perpetrators put the notes in an envelope, which was supposedly sealed with adhesive tape for security. During the process, the perpetrators distracted the couple and exchanged the envelope with the money for one without money. The couple later noticed the fraud and filed a complaint.

The complainant was sentenced in the canton of Fribourg to a partial prison term of 36 months, 18 months of which were unconditional.