The Court for Criminal Matters Vienna found the managing director guilty of serious commercial fraud, the judgement is not yet final. More lawsuits shall follow.
ECC Austria’s host structure, the Verein für Konsumenteninformation VKI has proceeded against the fraudulent network ten years ago and often succeeded against its misleading promises.
As of yesterday, manager Gerhard Bruckberger was convicted to four years of imprisonment. He has been in remand custody since February 2013.
With labels like "Friedrich Müller", the lottery operator had promised prize money to mainly elderly people. To get the money, they were told to call a value-added number or to pay a service fee of 50 Euro. With these strategies, thousands of consumers in the german-speaking area as well as in neighbouring countries have been deceived.
This conviction is only a first step. A second trial will start in a few days and more investigations are ongoing.
