Prison and community service for staged robbery of diamond merchant | Inland

Van G. was convicted of fraud, money laundering and making a false report. He has been in custody for 73 days and does not have to go back to jail. However, the court imposed a suspended prison sentence of 107 days on him so that the suspect does not make another mistake. “The suspect went very far and scared a lot of people,” the court ruled. “He made the people around him believe that an armed robbery had taken place. As a result, the police had to conduct an unnecessary large-scale investigation.”

Van G. would have come to his special step because of financial problems, which he could not talk to anyone about. “I was in a panic,” he told the court. On November 9, 2016, he had robbers fill their bags with jewelry in his company safe under his watchful eye. He had himself tied up and locked up in that safe, only to be released later after a phone call to his daughter. Van G. subsequently filed a report and filed a million-dollar claim with his insurer. It paid out 3.5 million euros as an advance.

‘Done something terrible’

The public prosecutor had demanded two years in prison against Van G., of which six months were conditional. The sentence imposed is lower, partly because he has expressed extensive regret during the hearing. “I wasn’t like that, I’m not like that. I did something terrible.” In addition, the insurers have received a full refund of the amount paid out. The court also took into account that the investigation took a very long time.

One of the ‘robbers’, Danny S. (30), has been sentenced to a 90-day suspended prison term and 200 hours of community service for fraud. The court acquitted S. of money laundering.

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