Man from Schoonebeek suspected of embezzling inheritance of 155,000 euros: ‘I was extorted’ Inland

De Schoonebeker (54) claimed at the court in Assen that he was extorted for six years. He said he gave all the money from the estate to the blackmailers. The widowed aunt died in 2010. The heirs were mainly cousins, as she had no children.

The suspect was eventually appointed as the executor of the will a few months after her death. He took over that task in June 2010 from a sick relative, the brother of the deceased woman. As executor, he had to arrange the finances and divide the estate among the heirs. The aunt had a nice amount in her bank account. In addition, the proceeds from the sale of her house were added.

Notary makes a declaration

After deduction of costs, such as inheritance tax, more than 155,000 euros remained. Over time, relatives started asking about the inheritance. The suspect then held off the boat, saying it was all complex. After years, he was removed from his position by the subdistrict court. Notary Veldman was then given the task of settling the estate and discovered that only a few thousand euros were left.

After the embezzlement was reported in 2018, the police started an investigation. This showed that over the years the suspect regularly transferred large amounts from the bank account of the heirs to his credit card account. It happened already on the first day that he had access to the money. He also often withdrawn amounts of money between 500 and 5000 euros from the account of his deceased aunt.

Suspect: extorted by foreign criminal gang

“I was being extorted,” the man explained. “It happened from the moment I became an executor. I got a phone in an envelope. On the phone was a message with an amount and where I had to deliver that money. The messages demanding money kept coming. I don’t know who the blackmailers were. I suspect, given the language, members of a foreign criminal gang.”

The man has no evidence of the extortion. Why did he not take a picture of the messages from the blackmailers, the judge wanted to know. He didn’t dare, he said: “I’ve always had the fear that people are looking over my shoulder.” De Schoonebeker said he feared for the safety of his family. His wife and children knew nothing about it. The public gallery of the court was filled with heirs. They were audibly outraged at his statement.

Police never informed about blackmailers

A deleted file was found on the suspect’s computer. It concerns a letter from 2016 to the civil-law notary in which he explains why the estate had not yet been settled. In that letter, which according to the suspect was never sent, he tells about the blackmailers and that the police have been informed. But the police never heard anything about the extortions at the time.

“He is demonstrably lying,” said the prosecutor. She believes that the man in no way makes it plausible that he has been extorted. “The Public Prosecution Service assumes that you issued it for yourself. Over six years, it will be an average of more than 2000 euros per month. You can live well on that. I don’t know what you did with it. But I don’t believe it went to blackmailers.”

Year in prison demanded

The officer believes that the man has seriously abused his position of trust for years. “He shows no remorse. I find that very bad.” The suspect was sentenced to 1 year in prison. The officer must repay the money to the heirs. The court will rule in two weeks.

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