A Blast of Klaxons, Insults and a Fight at the Roadside
A blast on the horn in anger as a young lady in a parked car suddenly pulled out in front of her without warning. The elder driver started to lose her grip on her emotions. When the young driver gave her a loud blast back, she saw red, pulled up and got out of her car, strode over to the young driver and gave her a piece of her mind. There followed a decidedly unladylike shouting match full of insults and vulgarities. It ended with the elder lady completely losing control and giving the younger driver a back-handed slap to the face. A visit to the hospital, three days sick off work and a criminal complaint against the older lady landed her in court. Notwithstanding the younger driver had provoked the incident with a careless maneuver emerging from the parking space, the prosecution emphasized the accused had no right to act like a vigilante and sought a 1000 euro fine. Exercising clemency as it was a first offense the Court halved the fine to 500 euros.
A Fake University Degree Taints a Reputation
Counterfeiting in the modern age has extended to falsifying qualifications. Degrees from prestigious institutions give one access to contacts and business and the ability to make a good living. Such it was for an Italian who paid well over 15.000 euros for a false degree certificate on the black market and registered himself as a commercial businessman in Monaco. And he found himself a good client who asked him to formally search for a property in Monaco on his behalf.
The authorities came across inconsistencies in his filings and an investigation uncovered fraudulent statements underpinning his status. He also fell-out with his client who was frustrated at his inability to deliver on his mission to acquire a property. The result was a Court case with both the authorities and the client lined up against him seeking awards of 5000 euros and 25.000 euros respectively. Confessing remorse for his desire to have the same success as his parents who had genuine degrees did not get him out of hot water completely. The Court gave him a four month suspended prison sentence and fines of 3.000 euros and 1.000 euros respectively.
Falsifying a Check by Thousands Leads Straight to Jail
Where there is an illicit desire there is an illicit market to satisfy it. There is a great demand for easy money so a market in false and stolen checks pops up. And there is opportunity to make further money dishonestly. So a stolen cheque in the amount of 600 euros can be altered to 7.600 euros for example. Of course, for the scheme to work it depends on the real owner of the check to be in-observant when the check is deposited by the criminal. This was the essence of the case before the Court together with a “cock and bull” story by the accused as to how he came by the stolen check. The Court was not amused and sentenced him to a month in prison for falsifying and depositing the cheque. The transaction was eventually reversed and the funds repatriated.
