Between May 2008 and the end of January 2011, Dawid S. misappropriated approximately PLN 1,129,000 to the detriment of 57 clients. After some of the money was repaid, the amount of damage subject to recovery was set at nearly PLN 390,000.

The business operated by S., registered as early as 2006, primarily pursued claims related to obtaining compensation for injured parties, mainly from the third-party liability policies of those responsible for road collisions and accidents. In 2007, the business generated substantial profits. In mid-2009, however, sales collapsed and the company lost financial liquidity. Problems then emerged with paying clients the money owed to them.

Money received from insurers—instead of being transferred to clients’ accounts within 14 days as stipulated in the contracts—was used for the company’s ongoing needs. Dawid S.’s financial policy did not provide for declaring bankruptcy. This deepened the cash-flow problems and led to an escalation of arrears not only toward clients, but also toward the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the tax office. The due financial claims arising on the part of clients and public entities formed the basis for five earlier criminal proceedings conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica against Dawid S., in which he was charged, among other things, with:

  • misappropriating money to the detriment of six clients who individually reported the crime
  • failing to declare bankruptcy on time (according to the opinion, this should have happened by June 30, 2007)
  • persistently violating the rights of 45 employees (from February 2007 to June 30, 2012) by failing to pay social insurance contributions.

The indictments resulted in judgments being handed down by the District Court in Legnica:

  • on May 19, 2014—sentencing Dawid S. to 1.5 years’ imprisonment, suspended for a three-year probation period, and ordering him to compensate one client for damage amounting to PLN 24,000
  • on December 4, 2014—sentencing Dawid S. to 1.5 years’ imprisonment, suspended for a three-year probation period; ordering him to compensate six clients for total damage of PLN 115,027; banning S. from conducting business activity for five years; and banning him from holding managerial positions in commercial-law companies for two years.

In 2014, reports were filed by additional clients of the company. In view of the justified suspicion that the number of injured parties could be even greater, the prosecutor, taking their interests into account and guided also by procedural efficiency, initiated official actions to identify the people toward whom Dawid S.’s conduct bore the hallmarks of a crime.

The investigation established that the criminal activity affected an additional 57 people. To determine the amount of damage, investigators relied on statements from the injured parties, information from insurers, damage documentation, a list of creditors submitted by Dawid S., and the defendant’s explanations.

The prosecutor agreed with Dawid S. on an aggregate sentence for all the offenses:

  • three years’ imprisonment, conditionally suspended for five years
  • a fine of PLN 1,500
  • a three-year ban on holding managerial positions in commercial-law companies
  • a six-year ban on conducting business activity involving the brokerage of claims related to traffic damage pursued against insurance companies
  • an obligation to compensate the injured parties for total damage of PLN 388,238.

The case will be heard by the Legnica court.

District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii