Systematic diversion of money Employee steals 340,000 francs on the instructions of the boss
An employee of the SV Group, which manages Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall, systematically diverted cash from the cash register for years - on behalf of his boss. The legally binding penalty order is now available.
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- An employee of the Laufen Castle visitor center booked fake ticket cancellations over four years and swindled CHF 340,000 for his boss.
- The public prosecutor's office in Winterthur/Unterland sentenced him to a conditional fine - the proceedings against the managing director are still pending.
- Before the fraud was uncovered, the SV Group praised the managing director for his success and the fact that the canton of Zurich had once again awarded him the contract to manage the castle.
The SV Group has been running Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall on behalf of the canton of Zurich since 2009. It is responsible for catering, maintenance of the grounds, the souvenir store and ticketing for visitors.
Between 2017 and 2020, one employee systematically swindled CHF 340,000 from the tickets - not for himself, but for his boss, the managing director of Schloss Laufen.
Falsified cancellations and invoices
The employee used the cash register system to create fictitious ticket cancellations and then took the cash from the cash register to hand it over to the managing director, as reported by "Der Landbote".
The employee created a statement every day using the falsified cancelations and signed cancelation receipts for tickets that had not been canceled. He signed the statement and forwarded it to the accounts department.
On days with high visitor numbers, the employee took 500 to 1000 francs from the cash register. According to the penalty order, this amount corresponds to up to 20 percent of the daily takings.
Contrary to the facts, the manager stated that the money was to be used for marketing purposes for the visitor center. In reality, he is said to have used the fraudulent money for his own purposes.
Proceedings against the managing director are still ongoing
The public prosecutor's office in Winterthur/Unterland has now sentenced the employee to a conditional fine of 70 daily rates of CHF 100 each for forgery of documents and aiding and abetting embezzlement. According to the legally binding penalty order, he had to expect to unjustifiably enrich the managing director.
According to "Der Landbote", the employee does not have to pay the fine if he is not guilty of anything else during the two-year probationary period. However, the fine and the fee of CHF 1,000 each are due.
Separate proceedings are underway against the managing director. He will have to answer to the Andelfingen district court on suspicion of embezzlement, among other things.
Company praised managing director when awarded the contract again
In 2020, the SV Group was awarded the contract to manage Schloss Laufen until 2036. In a press release, the company praised the long-standing managing director, who was "not only responsible for the success, but also for winning the contract". The scam had not yet been uncovered at this point.
Both the managing director and the employee are no longer working at the Schloss Laufen visitor center.
