- An artist defrauded a member of the Bahraini royal family of over 700,000 Swiss francs.
- The two met in the Engadin region of Switzerland.
- She used his credit card for personal expenses over a two-year period.
- She has been sentenced to prison and will be deported.
A woman posing as an artist swindled a member of the Bahraini royal family out of more than 700,000 Swiss francs (approximately $765,000 USD) over a two-year period, according to a recent ruling. The case highlights the vulnerabilities even high-net-worth individuals face when it comes to financial fraud.
The artist, identified in reports as Charlotte, first met the royal family member in 2016 in the Engadin region of Switzerland. Their relationship was described as a “difficult to define friendship or business relationship.”
Over 724,000 Francs Spent
Initially, Charlotte’s tasks were simple: accompanying the sheikh on trips and running errands such as booking hotels, restaurants, and flights. In 2018, she was given his credit card number to book a hotel in St. Moritz. Shortly after, in March of that same year, she confessed to using the credit card for personal purchases and promised to stop.
However, she continued to use the card more than 1,600 times between March 22, 2018, and August 25, 2020, racking up a total of 724,887 Swiss francs in charges. These expenses included furniture, alcohol, clothing, subscriptions, and travel. She even used the funds to establish her own business, “Gotham City” reported.
Sheikh Didn’t Review Statements
According to “Gotham City”, the victim, a former banker himself, only received his credit card statements “bank-held” and did not review them. He received an annual overview of his assets without detailed transaction information, allowing the fraudulent charges to go unnoticed for over two years.
Would you give a close friend your credit card number?
Charlotte admitted to using the card without the victim’s permission for personal expenses. The Federal Court found that the artist believed “a life of luxury was due to her,” but could not afford it through her art. She was ordered to repay approximately 650,000 Swiss francs. Initially, the royal family member showed no interest in pursuing criminal charges, but a formal investigation was later launched.
“Absurdly High Compensation”
When she first used the card for personal purchases, the sheikh responded with a heart emoji – which Charlotte interpreted as approval. The court disagreed, stating the message did not constitute “general consent to use the credit card.”
Charlotte claimed the victim had offered to pay her 20,000 euros for her work, but she never received the payment and therefore used the credit card. She also stated she received 1,000 francs to recharge her mobile phone. The court deemed this an “absurdly high compensation for everyday tasks.”
Court Ruling
On January 15, the Federal Court upheld the decision of the Graubünden Cantonal Court, which had convicted her of “commercial fraudulent misuse of a data processing system.” She received a two-year prison sentence, with one year to be served. She was also issued a five-year deportation order, as she has prior convictions for similar offenses in Germany, and Switzerland.
Why the comment section has been disabled
Activate the Eastern Switzerland Push now!
Only with the Eastern Switzerland Push from 20 minutes will you receive the latest news from the region of St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell-Innerrhoden, Appenzell-Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Graubünden and the neighboring country quickly on your mobile phone.
Here’s how: Install the latest version of the 20-minute app. Tap “Profile” at the bottom, then the “Settings” gear and finally “Push Notifications”. Select the desired topics here. Voilà!
