FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Two Turks living in Germany were sentenced to prison Wednesday for collecting money for charity and using it for a business.
Prosecutor Kerstin Loetz described the case as the biggest charity fraud ever seen in Germany, the Turkish news agency Hurriyet reported. She said that the supposed charity, Deniz Feneri, collected 16 million euros, about $23 million, from Turkish immigrants who thought the money would be used in their homeland.
The most culpable people in the fraud are in Turkey, Loetz said. She described the group as having close ties to the ruling political party in Turkey, the AKP.
Mehmet Gurhan was sentenced to five years and 10 months and Mehmet Taskan two years and nine months. Firdevsi Emis, a third defendant, was given a suspended sentence of one year and 10 months.
