Alkmaar man must only repay €5,010 after half-million-euro phone scam, court rules

A Dutch court in Middelburg ruled that a 22-year-old man from Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, must repay only 5,010 euros in a 569,000-euro phone scam case, rejecting attempts to hold him liable for the full amount stolen from a victim tricked in November 2023 into transferring more than half a million euros, Omroep Zeeland reports.

The victim was reportedly contacted by phone and told there was an emergency situation requiring immediate action. Believing the warning, he transferred funds that ultimately totaled more than 569,000 euros. The money was then moved through a network of bank accounts and redistributed further, including accounts linked to the suspect. The suspect had briefly received 5,010 euros in that account before the funds were transferred onward again.

The court characterized the defendant as a money mule. “I see nowhere in the file any involvement of this defendant, except for these five thousand euros,” the judge said during the hearing.

The defendant told the court he was recruited by his drug dealer, who asked him to participate in cryptocurrency trading and needed his ID card to set up the necessary accounts. He also said the dealer helped him create the accounts later used in the scheme.

“I didn’t pay anything, but in the end, I didn’t get anything either,” the defendant said. The judge replied, “Wow, so you didn’t have to do anything and you were going to get rich while you sleep?” The defendant answered, “Yes, stupid, right.” The judge added, “Those are your own words, but I assume you don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore.”

The defendant later acknowledged he realized within an hour that something was wrong, as multiple accounts were being opened to move money out. “Terrible that he lost half a million,” he said.

The Public Prosecution Service said it does not consider the defendant responsible for the full 569,000-euro loss but views him as an accomplice in laundering the 5,010 euros that passed through his account. Prosecutors asked for a fully suspended community service sentence and repayment limited to that amount.

The defense argued the court should apply the same approach used for other money mules, in which defendants were only required to repay the sums that passed through their accounts, effectively closing the case.