Numerous other offenses New charges against star chef Alfons Schuhbeck
Alfons Schuhbeck, chef and entrepreneur, stands as a defendant in the courtroom at Munich Regional Court I before the start of his trial in October 2022. The public prosecutor's office has charged Schuhbeck on suspicion of tax evasion.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Now there is a new indictment -- and it's a tough one.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Star chef Alfons Schuhbeck is facing new charges of delaying insolvency, fraud and subsidy fraud, in addition to his current prison sentence for tax evasion.
Image: Matthias Balk/dpa
Alfons Schuhbeck, chef and entrepreneur, stands as a defendant in the courtroom at Munich Regional Court I before the start of his trial in October 2022. The public prosecutor's office has charged Schuhbeck on suspicion of tax evasion.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Now there is a new indictment -- and it's a tough one.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Star chef Alfons Schuhbeck is facing new charges of delaying insolvency, fraud and subsidy fraud, in addition to his current prison sentence for tax evasion.
Image: Matthias Balk/dpa
The Munich star chef Alfons Schuhbeck lost his restaurant empire and ended up in prison. Now there's a new charge - and it's a tough one.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Star chef Alfons Schuhbeck has to answer for new charges of delaying insolvency, fraud and subsidy fraud, in addition to his current prison sentence for tax evasion.
- The allegations include making false statements when applying for emergency coronavirus aid and failing to file for insolvency for nine companies.
- Schuhbeck's lawyers emphasized that he will defend himself against the new charges, but have not yet issued a statement.
New charges against Alfons Schuhbeck: The Munich I public prosecutor's office is accusing the star chef, who is already in prison for tax evasion, of numerous other criminal offenses. The charges include delaying insolvency in nine cases, fraud in four cases, attempted fraud in five cases, subsidy fraud in 19 cases and the withholding and embezzlement of wages in 479 cases, as the authorities announced on Wednesday.
"Mr. Schuhbeck will defend himself against the charges. He has not yet commented on the matter," his lawyers Norbert Scharf and Joachim Eckert said. "In view of the status and scope of the proceedings, any premature statements or profiling are out of the question."
According to the public prosecutor's office, Schuhbeck is alleged to have wrongly applied for coronavirus emergency aid and bridging aid, among other things. "He knowingly made false statements in order to obtain unjustified subsidies on a large scale for the companies he represented and to create a source of income of some importance and duration", according to the statement from the public prosecutor's office.
One accusation: delaying insolvency
Schuhbeck is also alleged to have failed to file the necessary insolvency applications for nine of his companies, or failed to do so on time, even though the respective company was already insolvent.
"The proceedings are now in interim proceedings following the indictment. The court, which has to decide on the admission of the indictment, is therefore in control of the proceedings," the lawyers' statement reads. "The questions raised by the indictment concern the economic side of Mr. Schuhbeck's recent life story, which must be clarified. Statements on the charges will be made to the court, not in or via the public."
Verdict for tax evasion of 2.3 million euros
Last year, Schuhbeck began his prison sentence for tax evasion. The Munich I Regional Court sentenced him to three years and two months in prison. It was convinced that he had evaded 2.3 million euros in taxes and had dipped into the tills of two of his restaurants more than 1,000 times to make money disappear. He admitted to using a computer program that an employee had created on his behalf.
Schuhbeck was initially imprisoned in Landsberg am Lech prison and has since been transferred to a branch of the prison in the Andechs district of Rothenfeld. The fact that he was transferred there is the last officially confirmed news about his situation after his imprisonment.
He cooked for the Queen and the Beatles
Schuhbeck was an integral part of Munich's Bussi-Bussi society for many years. He entertained celebrities and became one himself.
He cooked for the Queen, the Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, FC Bayern Munich time and again and became one of the most famous chefs and restaurateurs in Germany.
His name was a brand for years. Schuhbeck built up a network of companies with three restaurants, a catering service, a gelateria and spice stores. He worked 19 hours a day, he said on his 70th birthday five years ago.
But Schuhbeck hit rock bottom. He filed for insolvency for his Munich restaurants, and last year insolvency proceedings were also opened against him personally.
Schuhbeck: "I did a lot of things wrong
"I did a lot of things wrong", Schuhbeck said in court in 2022, before he was able to make a more extensive confession. "I fooled myself, my friends and acquaintances and also my defense lawyers until the very end because I didn't want to admit that I had failed as a businessman."
During the trial, he also said: "If I could undo it, I would do it immediately." And: "I am standing in front of the ruins of my life's work."