Hundreds of young men were duped into taking out loans and betting millions on fictitious football matches. The police believe a violent, criminal network is behind it. On social media, two men diligently advertised odds tips on various football matches. With videos of expensive cars, watches and large stacks of bills, they lured in people who wanted to make a quick buck. In closed groups, up to a thousand members were presented with various games. One of the games was a fixed match with a guaranteed win. The game was sold in the following way: Scammer: Has fixed a game that is 100 percent fixed. A lot of money to collect easily and effectively.SS Scammer: I have a player who is going to receive a yellow card, the odds are 6 times the money, and I have direct contact with the player and everything is 100% secure Several million kroner There was only one problem: The match was never played. – In reality, there was no fight. It was just something I made up. That’s what a Swedish man in his 30s accused of fraud said when the trial against him and three other people started on Tuesday. The prosecution believes they can prove that the defendants have defrauded at least 38 people for over NOK 3.5 million. They claim the money has been transferred to accounts belonging to several people in an organized criminal network, of which the defendants themselves are also said to be part. Three men and one woman have been charged in the fraud case. This is what they are charged with: Swede in his 30sIndicted for gross fraud of at least NOK 3.5 million in collaboration with the man in his early 30s.Pleads guilty.Nordic man in his early 30sIndicted for gross fraud of at least NOK 3.5 million kroner in collaboration with the Swede in his 30s. Also indicted for being in possession of a small amount of anabolic steroids. Pleads partially guilty. The Swede’s ex-girlfriend Indicted for gross fraud and gross fraud. Must have received over NOK 1.3 million from the fake gambling business. She is also said to have induced a man to pay her NOK 530,000 because she had to pay off a debt to a criminal group. Pleads not guilty. Norwegian man in his late 30s Charged with gross embezzlement of NOK 510,000 from the fake gambling business. The police believe he is one of the main men in the criminal network. He pleads not guilty. Earlier this year, the Swede in his 30s, his ex-girlfriend and the Norwegian in his late 30s were sentenced to several years in prison for a number of serious offences. – Refund guarantee In 2021, the police told news that close to a thousand people had bought membership in the groups where the gambling games were advertised. news has been in contact with several of the young men who have lost thousands of kroner. None of them want to talk openly about how they were tricked into the fake gambling universe. While some took out loans of several hundreds of thousands of kroner, most have “only” invested a few thousand. – A guarantee was given of repayment of effort and guaranteed profit. No one got their money back, said state prosecutor Ingelin Hauge in his introductory speech in court. The defendants are said to have used Snapchat to reach out to young men who were looking for easy money. Photo: The police take the blame The Swede in his 30s takes a large part of the blame for the million-dollar fraud. He pleads guilty to aggravated fraud. In court, he said he has had an extensive gambling problem for 20 years. Eventually, he started posting betting tips on TikTok. He then moved on to charging for tips he posted on Snapchat. At the same time, the gambling problems increased, according to him. At one point he decided to make up a fictitious football match to fill his own wallet. – Since everyone trusted me, and since they had won before, it worked, he said. Knut Ditlev-Simonsen defends the Swede in his 30s. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news The Norwegian in his early 30s also admits to gross fraud. – I admit and take responsibility for it, he said in his explanation. At the same time, he believes that he has not intended to offer games based on match-fixing. The Swede’s ex-girlfriend is charged with gross embezzlement of a total of NOK 1.8 million. She pleads not guilty. Multicriminal network The three defendants who were sentenced earlier this year were convicted under the mafia section. This means that the court believes they are part of an organized criminal group. The man whom the police have identified as the ringleader of the network was sentenced to almost nine years in prison. The court found him guilty of, among other things, violence, theft, weapons and drug offences. Now he is charged with gross fraud in the fraud case. According to the indictment, he must have received NOK 515,000 originating from the fictitious gambling business. He denies criminal guilt. Both Swedish and Norwegian police have previously seized weapons they believe originate from the criminal network. Photo: The police The verdict from this spring has been appealed by the convicts, and will be heard again in the Court of Appeal. It is therefore not legally binding. The trial, which started this week, is scheduled to last until mid-November in Søndre Østfold district court.
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Accused of defrauding young men of several millions with fictitious football matches – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
