Man convicted of defrauding SalMar founder
The defendant has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for, among other things, an aggravated fraud against Gustav Witzøe.
Nordmøre and Romsdal District Court has sentenced a man to two years and six months in prison for several counts of fraud and document forgery, reports Norway's TV 2.
According to the trial verdict, the man received loans of over NOK 1.2 million from Witzøe's company Kvarv in the period 2018–2020. He allegedly led Witzøe to believe that the loans would be repaid through an upcoming insurance settlement, including by using forged documents.
The court concluded that there was no real ability to pay or a concrete plan for repayment.
The man was also convicted of several other frauds, including against his former GP and a car dealer. He was also ordered to pay NOK 1,245,000 in compensation to Gustav Witzøe, who founded SalMar, now the world's second largest Atlantic salmon farmer.
The district court described the fraud as a long-term and systematic activity in which the defendant exploited the trust of individuals for his own financial gain. The verdict was unanimous.
