Berlin court sentences thief involved in Füchse Berlin trophy disappearance

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison by a Berlin court following a series of crimes committed between 2023 and 2026. The defendant was convicted of 26 thefts, including the theft of 24,300 euros in cash, and 64 counts of computer fraud.

Among the incidents were two burglaries at the offices of the handball club Füchse Berlin. During these break-ins, the club's championship trophy went missing for several months before being discovered behind cardboard boxes in a rarely used basement during an inventory.

The defendant claimed he hid the trophy “out of a joke” and had no intention of keeping it. Consequently, the court did not convict him for the disappearance of the trophy, as a spokesperson stated that the lack of “intent to appropriate” meant the act did not qualify as theft. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the defendant to pay approximately 160,000 euros in damages.