Overview

• The Berlin public prosecution office charged four men aged 27 to 38 with 41 counts including gang-based fraud, document forgery, computer fraud and theft.
• Prosecutors allege the suspects lured elderly antiquarian book collectors into advance payments under the false pretense of securing buyers.
• Investigators estimate the nationwide “Faksimile-Masche” netted about €1.95 million, €738,000 of which prosecutors are seeking to confiscate from the detained defendants.
• The organized ring operated from late 2022 to spring 2025 using call centers and a web of shell companies to conceal and move illicit funds.
• Authorities have held the four in pretrial detention since May and continue issuing nationwide warnings to seniors and consumer protection agencies about the ongoing scam.