kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Article from Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf:
Man from Coevorden misappropriated thousands of Playstations: ’1.4 million euros profit’
A Sony employee from Coevorden misappropriated thousands of Playstation game consoles between 2010 and 2018. An acquaintance systematically sold them on to a game shop in Haulerwijk. According to the court, a profit of 1.4 million euros was made.
This was revealed on Thursday in a criminal case in Zwolle against three suspects of embezzlement, money laundering, healing and making false tax returns. The men were arrested by the Dutch tax investigation in 2019 and were detained for several days.
The Sony employee (53) was in charge of inventory management in the Dutch warehouse of the international entertainment giant. Products returned by department stores or customers also ended up with him again. Sony no longer wanted to sell these and used parts of the returned items, among other things, for repair. There was actually no control over it, but most of the Playstations and other items were still brand new.
The 40-year-old man from Sint Odiliënberg in Limburg knew the Coevordenaar from a previous job and asked him if he could arrange another Playstation for him, because his was broken. That turned out to be very simple for the Sony employee, he said he only had to send one e-mail. In the same way, friends of the Limburger were also provided with game computers and associated articles. Thus began the trade. "And later that got out of hand," the suspect admitted with a southern accent. Partly due to the gambling addiction of the man from Coevorden, who spent tons of money in online casinos. The suspect from Sint Odiliënberg sold some game computers, far below the going price, via Marktplaats to a 37-year-old game dealer from Haulerwijk. In the beginning he drove to the South for that. But the Limburger set up a construction as an intermediary in which the Sony employee sent the items directly to Friesland and he received the money himself. He channeled part of it to the man from Coevorden.
The Dutch Tax Investigation Service estimated that around 6,500 Sony products were shipped to Haulerwijk, which earned a total of between 1.2 and 1.4 million euros.
De Sony employee got caught when his bank invited him to an interview for conspicuous transactions. He immediately confessed, including to his employer, who immediately fired him. Sony had already adjusted its business operations shortly before. Of the small 8.5 tons that the co-killer allegedly earned from it, there is not a single penny left, said his lawyer. Everything is chargeable. "I am ashamed," the man replied. He has since recovered from his addiction through therapy.
The other suspects said they had no knowledge of the shadowy origins of the Playstations. According to them, they came directly from Sony. They didn't ask, according to the prosecutor. "You see and smell that it's not pure coffee, but you don't want to know more about it.”
None of the earnings were reported to the tax authorities, who missed out on around 800,000 euros as a result. "And what the Frisian trader did pay attention to was the erasure of traces. He didn't get any bills and burned the packing slips. The suspects have parasitized on Sony's money and on community money.”
The prosecutor demanded against the former Sony employee 26 months in prison, of which half a year on probation. The Limburger and the Frisian merchant heard criminal claims of 20 months.
The lawyers of the men believe that prison sentences are not appropriate, because of the time it took before the case was brought to court. The suspects have their lives on the line and want to make payment arrangements with the tax authorities. "The social cost of disrupting the good path my client has taken is even greater," said Councilwoman Genevive Compagner of the man from Coevorden.
Judgment on July 21.
Last edited: