Facts
The appellant [X.] was convicted by the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau for attempted fraud, attempted fraudulent damage to property, and obstruction of justice. The appellant had filed a complaint with the police that his car had been stolen and later reported the damage to the insurance company [V.] . The insurance company found that one of the two vehicle keys submitted by the appellant did not match the car reported as stolen and subsequently filed a complaint with the police against the appellant on suspicion of insurance fraud.
The Federal Court had previously remanded the case to the High Court to determine whether a conviction for fraudulent damage to property was warranted. The High Court then found the appellant guilty of attempted fraudulent damage to property and attempted fraud and sentenced him to an unconditional prison term of six months.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the conviction for attempted fraudulent damage to property violated federal law. The appellant disputes the existence of a valid criminal complaint, as the power of attorney granted by the insurance company to its legal representative was not valid because one of the signatories was not authorized to sign at the time of signing.
However, the Federal Court decided that the lower court rightly did not consider the appeal insofar as the appellant alleged an arbitrary evaluation of evidence and challenged the convictions for attempted fraud and obstruction of justice. The Federal Court only examined whether the conviction for attempted fraudulent damage to property violated federal law.
Th…