The case in summary A 35-year-old asylum seeker is accused of having used the identities of celebrities such as Jon Almaas and Fredrik Solvang. The man has most of what he is accused of. The motive for the fraud was to obtain money for gambling. The prosecution is asking for a sentence of two years and three months in prison. The man has been diagnosed as a gambling addict and is now receiving treatment for this in prison. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. During the two-day trial in Vestfold district court, the 35-year-old asylum seeker explained that he carried out the frauds to obtain money for gambling. – I have tried to quit several times. I lied to both friends and family to get money. I hate myself, said the 35-year-old in court. Cannot be sent to his home country He came to Norway in 2005, but was permanently deported in 2012 and transported to Afghanistan after he was convicted the first time. Nevertheless, he has returned and committed new crimes several times. When he was released from serving the last sentence in April 2023, he could no longer be deported to Afghanistan because the Taliban have taken over power in the country. He was therefore told to go to an asylum reception center in northern Norway. Got financial help at bingo Instead, he went to a bingo hall in Oslo where he met a man who could help him with money. The 35-year-old claims that this man has given him false identification papers. These have been used to get expensive mobile phones from a number of electronics stores in Eastern Norway. He says that the man waited outside the shops and that he got back the fake ID papers together with the expensive phones. The 35-year-old says he got NOK 1,000 for every phone he got – I have a bad conscience. I think about games all the time, said the man in court. Unknown victims Three of the fraud victims are Jon Almaas, Fredrik Solvang and Galvan Mehidi. The 35-year-old told the court that he did not know who his victims were. However, he admitted that he identified himself as all three. When he was arrested in Tønsberg last year, he had, among other things, several German tipping receipts. They showed that he had won a total of 2,250 euros. In addition, he had several thousand Norwegian kroner in cash and several ID cards. The 35-year-old has admitted most of what he is accused of, but denies having stolen other people’s VISA cards, which were later charged with a six-figure sum. Criminal environment The asylum seeker’s defender, lawyer Arild Humlen, believes the police have done too little to find out who the 35-year-old’s collaborators are. Lawyer Arild Humlen believes that there are more people who have participated in the fraud and believes that the police have not done enough to investigate others involved. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland Lawyer Arild Humlen believes that there are more people who have participated in the fraud and believes that the police have not done enough to investigate others involved. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland – It is quite obvious that there is a criminal environment in the background here. There are relatively resource-intensive and complicated forgeries here, says Humlen to news. The lawyer believes that the police should have identified the man who gave the 35-year-old false identification and answered the calls. The police believe that there is no mastermind and that the 35-year-old has operated on his own. – The prosecution cannot rule out that he has received help for forgery, but we have not found evidence of other parties involved, says deputy police officer Josefine Thoreid. Chief of Police in the South-Eastern Police District, Josefine Thoreid, asks the Vestfold District Court to sentence the accused to two years and three months in prison. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland Chief of Police in the South-Eastern Police District, Josefine Thoreid, asks the Vestfold District Court to sentence the accused to two years and three months in prison jail. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland “Repeat addition” She has asked the court to sentence the 35-year-old for all of the 27 criminal acts he is charged with. – It is aggravating for my sentencing proposal that he has been sentenced for similar matters twice before. This has resulted in what we call “recurrence supplements”, says Thoreid. The defender believes the man must be acquitted of what he has not confessed to. He suggests that the punishment for what the defendant has admitted should be around six months in prison. – Does he have anything to say to the victims in this case? – Yes, he is both embarrassed and sorry for what has happened, but he has been in an emergency situation which has meant that he has been used and allowed himself to be used by a criminal environment in these fraud cases, says the defender. During the time in custody, the 35-year-old has been diagnosed as a gambling addict. He is now receiving treatment for this in prison.
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Misused the identity of celebrities to finance gambling addiction – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
