Fraud is exposed Schwyz teacher forges university diploma - and receives a hefty fine

A teacher from Schwyz applied to two schools with big words about his teaching skills. But a suspicious diploma set the ball rolling - and led to a conviction.

A teacher from the canton of Schwyz applied to two schools with a fake university diploma - and failed miserably. In the end, he received a hefty fine, as revealed in a penalty order reported by the "Bote der Urschweiz " newspaper.

The man first knocked on the door of Theresianum Ingenbohl in spring 2025. In his application, he presented himself as a top teacher. According to the letter of application he submitted to the principal's office in March 2025, he had "sound specialist knowledge and strong teaching skills".

However, the school was particularly puzzled by an enclosed document: an alleged teaching diploma for baccalaureate schools from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zurich. However, when the Theresianum asked to see the original, the applicant did not provide it.

Diploma was suspiciously pixelated

According to the "Bote", the next attempt followed a month later - this time at the district school in Küssnacht. There it was noticeable: The diploma was heavily pixelated, but the surname, first name and date of birth were conspicuously legible. Küssnacht also demanded the original. However, according to the report, the teacher kept coming up with excuses as to why he could not produce the document.

The rector's office finally asked the University of Zurich directly - and the forgery was discovered. The public prosecutor's office later reconstructed the trick: the man had found the mathematics diploma via a simple internet search and created a new PDF from it on his computer - including his name and date of birth.

The man was sentenced by summary penalty order to a conditional fine of CHF 7,200 for multiple attempted frauds and multiple attempts to falsify his title. He also received a fine of 3480 francs and procedural costs.