The fraudster was reportedly a popular clergyman among parishioners.
Keystone / Urs Flueeler
A Swiss pastor who fraudulently begged parishioners for money to fuel his gambling habit has been handed a three-year suspended jail sentence and must serve six months behind bars.
The former clergyman conned CHF3.3 million ($3.4 million) out of his flock by asking for loans between 2009 and 2018 to pay off his gambling debts.
But rather than being cured of his gambling habit, he used the money to fund fresh losing sprees at casinos, where he played roulette and blackjack.
In 2018, the pastor resigned from his position from the Catholic church in Küssnacht am Rigi in the central canton of Schwyz.
Some of his 70 victims complained about his behaviour when he filed for bankruptcy the following year.
The court handed down a lenient sentence in light of the convicted man’s full confession and contrition and his willingness to take part in therapy to treat his gambling addiction.
“Without his cooperation, we would have been unable to locate many of his victims,” a prosecutor told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
Now aged 52, the former pastor lives in a monastery.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Why cars still reign supreme in ‘rail-nation’ Switzerland
Swiss central banker wants to boost equity to head off risks
This content was published on
Equity levels at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) are much too low for the risks its large balance sheet poses, according to Martin Schlegel.
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
Compensation for Syrian after pregnant wife denied help on Swiss train
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family being deported from Switzerland to Italy in 2014. The man now also receives compensation.
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Gambling bans spike in Switzerland
This content was published on
The number of gamblers banned from casinos rose sharply last year to over 10,000, driven by the growth in online gambling sites.
This content was published on
Five years after the first Swiss casinos opened for business, almost 17,000 people have been banned from playing in the country’s 19 gambling houses, mostly for addiction reasons. Casinos have a legal obligation to work to prevent gambling addiction. swissinfo visited a casino on a midweek afternoon to see the everyday players the law aims…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.