Pensioner
gang charged with torturing financial adviser
IFAonline| 11 Dec
2009 | 10:57
Author: John Bakie
Categories: Industry
Tags:Germany
A group of pensioners who tortured
their financial adviser after the value of their investments fell following the
financial crisis have been charged.
The gang of five
pensioners, all from West
Germany, kidnapped 56-year old James Amburn after the value of their investments fell by around
$3.6m.
Amburn was attacked with a Zimmer frame before being bundled
into a car boot and driven 480km to the home of Roland Koenig, 74.
Koenig and his
accomplice, Willy Dehmer, 80, were then joined by
Gerhard and Iris Fell, aged 63 and 66, and Koenig's 79-year old wife, Sieglinde. They then confined Amburn
to a cellar, and bound him with masking tape.
The victim
claims he was burned with cigarettes, beaten and had two ribs broken when he
was hit with a chair leg.
During his four
days in the cellar, the pensioners threatened to kill Amburn,
but he convinced them they could recover their money by selling some
securities.
The gang forced Amburn to send a fax to his bank to transfer funds, but
failed to notice he had scribbled ‘call police' on the bottom of the fax.
Shortly afterwards,
the bank called the police, who sent a team of armed officers to Koenig's home.
The pensioners
each face up to five years in prison for hostage taking and causing grievous
bodily harm. Their trial is due to begin next year.
Categories: Industry
