The Johan Schl\u00fcter law firm should have been distributing huge sums to movie and TV industry associations and their underlying rightsholders but its three partners \u2013 Johan Schl\u00fcter himself, Lars Halgreen and Susanne Fryland \u2013 had been\u00a0lining their own pockets instead<\/a>. Massive sums were siphoned away from their clients.<\/p>\n Yesterday, after more than 20 hearings during which the defendants maintained their innocence (with Schl\u00fcter and Halgreen painting themselves as victims of Fryland\u2019s actions), all three were found guilty of fraud and false accounting to the tune of 100 million Danish kroner (US$15.83m).<\/p>\n Johan Schl\u00fcter was sentenced to four years in prison, Susanne Fryland was ordered to serve five and a half years, and Lars Halgreen was sentenced to nine months. Because of his age, Schl\u00fcter\u2019s sentence is conditional. Due to his relatively minor role, so is Halgreen\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court has ruled that gross economic crime has been committed. And the prison sentences take into account the crime committed,\u201d special prosecutor Malene Stage Christensen\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0DR News.<\/p>\n The Johan Schl\u00fcter law firm went bankrupt in 2015 and, during the trial, events leading up to its demise were placed under the spotlight.<\/p>\n It transpired that in addition to being a partner in the law firm, Susanne Fryland was also a director of a subsidiary company which was responsible for managing registration, collection and administration rights for various film and TV associations.<\/p>\n The prosecutor presented an email sent by Fryland to the account manager at the subsidiary noting that Johan Schl\u00fcter in Copenhagen was \u201cscreaming for liquidity\u201d. When asked who was screaming, Fryland pointed the finger at Schl\u00fcter and Halgreen.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they looked at liquidity in Copenhagen, did Susanne Fryland print an invoice to an association?\u201d the prosecutor asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Fryland\u00a0confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trial heard that this kind of fraud, including but not limited to issuing unwarranted invoices, had been ongoing for at least four years.<\/p>\n Schl\u00fcter, a former director general of IFPI, was banned from practicing law and running a company. His lawyer, Jakob Arrevad, says he will read the verdict before deciding whether to file an appeal, DR.dk\u00a0reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Susanne Fryland, who wasn\u2019t in court to hear the decision, was also banned from practicing law and running a company. She immediately filed an appeal, as did former associate Halgreen, who was banned from practicing law for two years.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"