A 37-year-old hairdresser from the southern district ends up back in the dock shortly after his release from prison. The judge sentences him to a fine.
District - Just released from prison and already back in the dock: A 37-year-old man from the southern district had to answer again for embezzlement and fraud before the Ebersberg district court.
According to the indictment, the owner of a hairdresser's shop is said to have paid no social security contributions to the health insurance company for his 39-year-old employee for several months in 2022. The total is over 1,500 euros, the prosecutor explained when the indictment was read out. In addition, the hairdresser is said to have not paid another employee's salary for two months. The outstanding amount here amounts to around 2,800 euros.
The defendant admits to one point - but he paid wages
In court, the defendant confessed to at least one point. “I could no longer pay my social security contributions,” he explained with his head bowed. “I have financial difficulties and insolvency proceedings.” However, the man rejected the accusation of not having paid his employee. “She started working for me as an intern for free,” reported the defendant.
After a month, in May 2022, he finally hired the now 23-year-old on an hourly basis. “She then received wages from me,” explained the defendant. At that time he gave her 500 euros in cash. “She was on vacation in June and then sick for three weeks,” the man explained. Nevertheless, he advanced wages of 1,500 euros to his employee. “She needed this for her vacation.”
Judge considers allegations of fraud to be a “misunderstanding” and closes proceedings
“The way you tell it, it’s incomprehensible,” replied judge Benjamin Lenhart. “Why should a fully trained hairdresser work unpaid as an intern?” The judge was hoping for an answer to the question from the employee invited as a witness. But even that didn't help much with the clarification.
The 23-year-old confirmed that she had received money from her former boss, but she was not employed as an intern, but rather part-time. However, there is no employment contract. “So I don’t think it’s out of the question that this is all a misunderstanding,” explained Judge Lenhart, given the opaque employment relationship and discontinued the proceedings on grounds of fraud.
Hairdresser (37) has to pay a fine for embezzlement
With regard to the failure to provide social benefits and in view of the defendant's eleven previous convictions - one of which he was serving in prison until a few days ago - the public prosecutor demanded a ten-month suspended prison sentence.
The defense, however, pleaded for a fine. Judge Benjamin Lenhart ultimately sentenced the hairdresser to a fine of 240 days at ten euros each and ordered the recovery of the outstanding amount from the health insurance company.