Man receiving emergency aid pays small amounts with a stolen bank card

The Zug Prosecutor's Office sentenced a 35-year-old migrant to 90 days in prison by means of a criminal order. Whether he will ever see the inside of a cell is questionable, however.

It was late Monday afternoon in early September 2019, when the man, who has since been convicted, started his criminal activities in the Zugerland shopping centre in Steinhausen. The Algerian, who had been convicted several times, pulled a wallet from the rear pocket of his victim and made off with the stolen goods.

According to the criminal order issued by the Prosecutor's Office in Zug, he thereby found himself in possession of CHF 165 in cash and several bank cards and credit cards. The Public Prosecutor's Office said: "He wanted to then make the best use of the wallet and its contents."

From Steinhausen to Rotkreuz to Zurich
For a brief moment, he seemed to be successful in this, thanks to contactless payment. The man went on a shopping spree. First in Steinhausen, and then in Rotkreuz. He then travelled to Zurich, where he also made purchases and obtained other services in the city and the agglomeration. He successfully held one of the bank cards to an EC device 58 times, and was able to pay amounts of up to CHF 40 francs each time without ever having to enter a code.

It seemed to pay off: not only on that Monday, but also the day after. Until almost midnight –a total of 31 hours – he was able to use the stolen cards, and spent more than CHF 1,200. But he actually wanted much more.

Contactless payment with bank cards allowed a 35-year-old migrant to pay CHF 1,200 with a stolen card.
Symbolic photo: Matthias Jurt (Zug, 04 March 2021)

According to the penalty order, 13 attempts failed, in which he wanted to spend a total of more than CHF 1,600. He also tried to withdraw cash with the cards.

Limiting his range of motion did not stop him from the act
But the Algerian should never have been able to go to Steinhausen, Rotkreuz or Zurich. The Office for Migration had actually limited his range of movement to the municipal area of his emergency accommodation in Cham – for a period two years. The man had no money and no job, and was living on emergency aid of CHF 8 a day, the prosecutor's office reports. He no longer receives this money in the meantime, as he has left Switzerland "unchecked".

The Zug Prosecutor's Office found the 35-year-old guilty: of theft, misuse of the bank cards and of not remaining within the set area. As he has already been convicted several times for "similar" offences and "is not expected to be able to pay a fine", the public prosecutor considered it right to impose a custodial sentence instead of a fine. On the basis of the previous convictions, the Public Prosecutor's Office assumes that a conditional sentence would not have the necessary effect – that is, it would not deter the repeat offender from further offences. The custodial sentence of 90 days was accordingly pronounced unconditionally.

It remains to be seen whether the Algerian will ever go to prison for this offence, however, as it’s not currently known where he is. He would therefore only be able to find out about his custodial sentence through the corresponding publication in the Zug Official Journal (Amtsblatt).