He “sold” a Jordanian company a loader that was not his for PLN 130,000

The defendants are the organiser of the scheme—31-year-old Łukasz M.—and his acquaintance, 33-year-old Piotr M., both from Legnica. Łukasz M., whose relative owns the machine, decided to take advantage of this and put it up for sale online. From the very beginning, he intended to commit fraud. To this end, in the first days of June 2015, he posted an advertisement offering it for sale through a well-known classified-advertising website.

On 8 June 2015, a witness who ran a business finding construction equipment for clients noticed the advertisement. He contacted the purported seller and said that he had found a buyer: a company from Jordan. However, he stipulated that he wanted to inspect the loader in person. Łukasz M. then asked an acquaintance from Legnica whether he could leave the machine on his property. The man agreed, and when the buyer’s intermediary came to Legnica, he allowed him to take photographs.

So that the foreign buyer could pay by bank transfer, Łukasz M. persuaded his colleague—the co-defendant Piotr M.—to open a euro sub-account, which he did. This defendant was listed as the seller on the sales invoice.

When the Jordanian company transferred EUR 30,485 to his account—more than PLN 130,000—he withdrew the money and, at his colleague’s request, handed it over to unidentified persons.

Several days after the purchase, the intermediary contacted the man at whose property he had inspected the loader. The man told him that the machine had been taken away and that its owner was not the person with whom he had originally spoken. He also gave him the actual owner’s telephone number. When the owner confirmed that he had never intended to sell the equipment, the intermediary reported the crime.

The fraudsters were identified quickly. The men were charged with, together with other persons, causing the Jordanian company to make an unfavourable disposal of its property.

Łukasz M. pleaded not guilty. Piotr M., however, admitted his guilt, claiming that he had agreed to participate in the fraud in the hope of obtaining employment at his colleague’s relative’s company.

Both defendants had previously been convicted. They face up to eight years in prison. The case will be heard by the District Court in Legnica.

Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii