A couple accused of stealing millions from parking meters in Bavaria confessed in full at the start of their trial on Tuesday.
The pair, one of whom emptied the machines for the city, admitted to a decade-long scheme that prosecutors say netted nearly €1.9 million. The 40-year-old man told judges at Kempten Regional Court he regretted his actions and said the charges were correct.
Prosecutors allege the former city employee, aided by his 39-year-old wife, stole about €1.9 million ($2.2 million) over ten years. The couple, held in custody since November, face charges of commercial theft, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. The man had been responsible for emptying parking meters in the Allgäu region. Authorities say the coins were routed into private accounts and partly converted into supermarket vouchers. Between 2020 and 2025 alone, they are accused of stealing €1.34 million in 335 separate incidents.
The male defendant gave detailed testimony, answering the court’s questions at length. He said he started by taking small amounts of change from coin piles and that the taking grew over time. “At some point, it became self-perpetuating, a vicious cycle,” he told the court.
More than 500 additional cases dating back to 2015 are time-barred and cannot be prosecuted. Nonetheless, prosecutors are seeking the confiscation of almost €584,000 linked to those older alleged offenses, bringing the total amount authorities aim to recover to roughly €1.9 million.
Municipal witnesses could not explain how the defendant repeatedly accessed a key to open the cash boxes, an issue still unresolved in court.
The case emerged in November when a bank flagged repeated suspicious cash deposits to investigators on suspicion of money laundering. Missing funds had sometimes been noticed, and a local bank had previously questioned frequent coin deposits, but staff accepted the couple’s evasive explanations.
Following the investigation, the city of Kempten changed its parking management system: locks were replaced, extra checks introduced, and an external service provider hired. The money, the 39-year-old reportedly said, is “gone.” The couple owned a horse farm and expensive cars, bags, shoes and clothes. “Our standard of living was very high; we spent everything,” she said.
When their relationship ended in August 2025, the 40-year-old testified he gave his long-term partner a final settlement of €15,000 in coins.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar