Young woman uses employer's credit card for herself

A young woman from Zug went on a shopping trip with credit card of her boss, booked holidays, and enjoyed life. In the end, the damage is almost CHF 75,000. And it wasn’t her first brush with a crooked business.

The "Wildlife Warriors" fight for nothing less than for the preservation of wildlife. "Every donation helps us save lives. Donate to help us with our mission," writes the conservation organisation from the small Australian town of Beerwah in the state of Queensland. The "Wildlife Warriors" need money. And they receive it. From Australia, the United States and Europe, but also from Switzerland, from Zug; but not that much: On 13 January this year, a young woman transferred CHF 55 to the organization founded by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin four years before his death in 2006.

What the animal rights activists in Australia didn't know: the money from Switzerland was stolen. The CHF 55 donation is not only listed on the donor's Facebook profile, but also in a criminal order issued by the Zug Public Prosecutor's Office a few months later.

The Public Prosecutor sentenced the 25-year-old Zug woman to 150 daily rates of CHF140 as a conditional fine, and CHF 8,200 in fines. Due to multiple unfaithful business dealings.

Nine months, 569 transactions, CHF 75,000 loss
With 150 daily rates, the Public Prosecutor has gone to the upper limit of the penalty, which is 180 daily rates. The penalty order of 21^st August is 15 pages long. 12.5 pages alone are taken up the list of all the transactions that the young woman made with a credit card that her boss had entrusted to her for business purposes.

But she used the business credit card 569 times for private transactions from July 2019 to April 2020. CHF 74,377.95 of damages amounted after nine months in which the woman had use of the card. She probably wasn’t found out for that long because it was her job to make credit card rate payments from the business account.

CHF 3,905 for holidays, CHF 1,323 for Zalando

During the nine months, the then "team assistant" of a foundation for the "care and management of modern technologies (...) into the range of new cryptographic-operated (...) software protocols" not supported only the "Wildlife Warriors". She also allowed herself to enjoy her life.

For example, on 19 November 2019, the Hotel Chedi in Andermatt booked an amount of CHF 530. The luxury holiday provider Voyage Privé can look forward to a payment of CHF 3,905 Swiss francs.

Hardly had the Federal Council sent Switzerland into the lockdown on 16 March when an order for CHF 1,323 was received by the online retailer Zalando. Two days later, their competitor ‘About you’ also received an order for CHF 1,103.50. According to the penalty order, the woman has accepted the refund claims from her ex-employer. She thereby  does not dispute her obligation to repay the money.

The prospect of quick money had already lured the young woman earlier. Up to at least 2016, she was involved with a Lifestyle company from the Multi-Leve-Marketing area in eastern Switzerland that has faced accusations of operating an illegal snowball system. And, more recently, the 25-year-old has been doing business with other people who enjoy a dubious reputation.

After leaving the Zug foundation, she started working for "My Doctor"
After her employment at the Zug Foundation was ended, she joined "My Doctor", the practice group belonging to the Austrian entrepreneur Christian Neuschitzer, who is now facing allegations of fraud and is under investigations by the Zurich Public Prosecutor's Office. The presumption of innocence applies.

With the "Mein Arzt" operation, the Austrian had taken over about 30 GP practices, including one in Hünenberg and one in Oberägeri. Suspicions arose about Neuschitzer's management, however. Suppliers complained about unpaid bills, employees had to wait for their wages. In the meantime, Neuschitzer's practice group has collapsed, and several companies are bankrupt, including "My Doctor in Ägerital GmbH".

As shown by a payment order issued by the Opfikon debt  collection service (Betreibungsamt), the 25-year-old Zug woman is also demanding money from Neuschitzer: CHF 12,854.70 for "outstanding wage payments" for the months of July and August.

On social media, she claims that she was the administration head of "My Doctor" up to this summer. She thereby supported the management and worked in the real estate management.

Bur she’s now open for a new experience.