Seçil Erzan, who was accused of defrauding celebrities of millions of dollars by creating fictitious funds, was sentenced to 102 years and four months in prison.
Former bank manager Seçil Erzan, who allegedly defrauded a total of 41 people, including famous names such as Fatih Terim, Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, Emre Belözoğlu and Selçuk İnan, with the promise of a highly profitable and reliable fund, appeared before the judge again.
The hearing, which was supposed to be held at Istanbul High Criminal Court No. 41 located in the Istanbul Palace of Justice in Çağlayan, was moved to High Criminal Court No. 14 due to insufficient space.
102 YEARS 4 MONTHS IN SEÇİL ERZAN PRISON
At the end of the 2-year trial, Seçil Erzan was sentenced to 102 years and 4 months in prison and a judicial fine of 767 thousand 240 TL.
Seçil Erzan was convicted for his actions against 41 people. He was sentenced to eight years and four months for allegedly defrauding Ardan Turan. Emre Belözoğlu was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months, and Muslera was sentenced to 3 years and 7 months.
The 10-month sentence Erzan received for defrauding Fatih Terim has been postponed.
The trial prosecutor requested the acquittal at the previous hearing for former Denizbank executives Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu, who were tried together with Seçil Erzan. Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu were acquitted.
In the decision, the committee also decided to postpone the announcement of sentences of 1 year, 10 months and 15 days in prison for the crime of “falsifying private documents” and ruled that Erzan must serve 5 years of probation for this crime.
“I NEVER CALL ANYONE A FUND”
Defendant Erzan, who defended himself, claimed that he did not set up a system, that there were attempts to blackmail him and that he did not provide money to anyone.
Saying that he had fallen into a spiral, Erzan said his last words: “I did not deceive anyone. If I were under house arrest, I would not run away. Will I ever see my mother again? If I run away, I will run away. I want to be released. I beg you to act fairly.” he said. Erzan was seen crying while reading the decision in question.
The other defendants who were questioned finally asked to be acquitted.
PUNISHMENTS FOR OTHER SNAIKS
The Commission sentenced defendant Ali Yörük to 15 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison and a fine of 150 thousand liras for “qualified fraud” against 4 complainants, and defendant Atilla Yörük was sentenced to 7 years, 6 months and 17 days in prison and a fine of 75 thousand liras for the same crime against 4 complainants.
The Commission sentenced defendant Nur Erkasap to 9 years, 4 months and 15 days in prison and a fine of 79 thousand 160 liras for “qualified fraud” against 3 complainants, and sentenced defendant Hüseyin Eligül to 5 years and 2 months in prison and a fine of 7 thousand 600 liras for the same crime against 3 complainants.
The Commission sentenced defendant Nazlı Can to 4 years, 5 months and 20 days in prison and fined 31 thousand 500 liras for “qualified fraud” against 3 complainants, and acquitted the defendant of this crime against 6 complainants.
While defendant Süleyman Aslan was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and fined 20 thousand liras for “loan sharking”, it was decided to acquit Mojtaba Haghani, Asiye Öztürk, Mehmet Aydoğdu, Hakan Ateş, Rüya Sağır, Kerem Can and Candaş Gürol.
HOW MANY PUNISHMENTS ARE REQUIRED?
Erzan, who is described as “Ponzi Seçil” due to the ponzi money system he set up, is being asked to be imprisoned for 109 to 358 years for the crimes of “forgery of personal documents” and “qualified fraud of cooperative managers within the scope of the cooperative's activities in the commercial activities of persons who are traders, company managers or acting on behalf of the company.”
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FINAL HEARING?
Erzan, who defended at the hearing, testified that he had been detained for 910 days and told the court panel: “Please act fairly, I beg you. Know that there is no such system and I do not act with the intention of making money. Know that I am panicking and trying to correct it.” he said.
In his defense, Erzan said: “I gave 10 to the person who gave me one point.” he declared.
TEMPORARY DECISION
Announcing the interim decision at a hearing held on October 6, the court decided to confiscate the money in Erzan's private retirement account.
DETAILS FROM THE FIXED VERSION
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, it is stated that defendant Seçil Erzan worked as a manager for a bank branch in Levent and that he received $2 million from complainant Bülent Çeviker based on a personal relationship of trust and stated that he would repay him with the promise of high profits.
It is stated in the indictment that written documents were given in exchange for money, but although complainant Çeviker later tried to reach Erzan, this did not happen. He reported the situation to the bank, an investigation was carried out by the bank and a criminal complaint was filed against Erzan.
It is stated in the indictment that defendant Erzan persuaded the complainants to deposit money in this fund by telling the complainants from football players, businessmen and various professional groups that there was a reliable fund with high profits and that widely known names such as Fatih Terim and Hakan Ateş were included in this fund. The indictment clearly states that in fact there is no such fund.
The indictment states that Erzan forged documents related to the amount of money given by the complainant, stamped the bank's wet signature on these documents, then delivered them to the complainant and committed fraud.
