Judgment of the Federal Court on Conviction for Commercial Fraud

Facts

The Federal Court upheld the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Bern, which had found [A.A.] and [B.A.] guilty of commercial fraud to the detriment of the City of Biel. [A.A.] was additionally found guilty of fraud on March 16, 2006. [A.A.] was sentenced to a conditional custodial sentence of 18 months, and [B.A.] was sentenced to a conditional custodial sentence of 15 months.

Considerations

The Federal Court concluded that the appellants had fraudulently misled the social welfare authorities through active deceptive actions. They made untrue statements to the authorities that [A.A.] was unemployed, although in reality he was engaged in gainful employment and earned over 279,000 Swiss francs. The appellants also signed monthly budgets in which these earnings were not listed, and concealed a bank account through which [A.A.] handled his wage receipts.

The Federal Court considered the requirements for fraud within the meaning of Art. 146 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) to be fulfilled. The deceptions of the appellants were fraudulent, as the social welfare authorities…