Harksen got more than asked for
2003-04-11 12:50
Hamburg - Wrapping up one of the most-sensational investment-scam cases in post-war Germany, Hamburg's district court found Jürgen Harksen guilty of defrauding investors of millions of dollars and sentenced him a term longer than asked by prosecutors.
The court sentenced Harksen, 42, to six years and nine months in prison - nine months longer than the prosecution had sought, a rarity in the German legal system where courts generally sentence the guilty to terms less than prosecutors have demanded.
Harksen's defence had demanded acquittal.
The "king of the conmen", as local media had dubbed him, admitted in court to having duped three investors of the German-mark equivalent of about $18m between 1990-1992, before fleeing to South Africa.
Harksen was tried on only three charges, in keeping with the terms of his extradition from South Africa in October 2002.
Showed little remorse for scams
The actual amount of the money he defrauded investors with promises of huge returns - 1 300% or more on non-existent investment schemes - was much greater.
The case was being closely watched not only in Germany, where many people lost their money in Harksen's bogus investment schemes, but also in South Africa, to which he fled in 1993 and where he continued to dupe investors.
Two days before Friday's sentencing, Harksen showed little remorse on German television about having cheated people of their money, putting a spin on events to blame them for being so gullible.
His only regret, he told German television, was having dragged down his wife, Jeannette, 40, with him in his fraudulent schemes. The couple have three children, who are in South Africa.
"I regret having hurt her," he said about his wife, once a successful physician who faces charges as an accessory.
"I don't know if it is possible, but I hope I can save my marriage and that we can be a family again. That is the one goal I have left in life." - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA