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Franz A. Zölch was once a sought-after media attorney, president of the national ice hockey league, senior military officer, and husband of government counselor Elisabeth Zölch. But then came the fall from a great social height. Doubtful financial transactions were to blame.
More precisely, they were loans that Zölch took out from friends and acquaintances under false pretenses, and never repaid them. Time and time again he managed to keep his creditors at bay. Zölch always made it known that he had not acted fraudulently, but was convinced that he could return the money.
Three-year trial period
Now Zölch has been convicted of commercial fraud. The Berne regional court imposed a 30-month partial prison sentence on Tuesday. The lawyer must serve one year of the prison sentence. 18 months of which have been postponed with a trial period of three years, as announced on Tuesday by the president of the court at the opening of the sentence.
The first judicial instance found it proven that Zölch obtained loans from acquaintances under false pretenses, which he did not repay. In doing so, he fraudulently misled his financiers. He knew that he was deeply in debt and that he would not repay the amounts.
The believers were friends
However, he let his financiers believe that he was only in a short-term financial bottleneck. Zölch relied on his fame as a media lawyer, senior military officer, university professor, Bernburger, and ex-husband of then-government councilor Elisabeth Zölch. He supposed the moneylenders blindly trusted him.
Zölch’s defense attorney demanded his client’s acquittal. He saw the duty of donors. They would have forgotten to question the stories presented by Zölch and to make clarifications. Creditors would have trusted him too lightly.
The court saw this differently. After all, the creditors were friends. The corresponding clarifications would have put friendship to the test, which is why most money-minded people shunned it. The prosecutor asked that Zölch be imprisoned for 56 months.
Zölch was acquitted on Tuesday at certain points. In most cases, however, he was found guilty of commercial fraud or fraud and attempted fraud. (SDA / noo)
Posted: March 16, 2021 at 4:31 pm
Last Updated: March 16, 2021, 59 minutes ago
