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Six men convicted for $86,000 robbery of Trøndelag artist, appeal for sentence length underway

Wednesday 10th 2024 on 15:08 in  
Norway

Six men have been convicted for the severe robbery of a Trøndelag artist, in which they forced the artist to pay 750,000 kroner (around $86,000) in May last year. Most of them partially admitted their guilt, but denied being part of a criminal group. Three of the men appealed the verdict, but the court upheld the decision on the question of guilt. Two of them, however, were granted an appeal regarding the length of their sentences, which will be reassessed in the Frostating Court of Appeal.

The appeal case is reportedly scheduled for August in the same court. The stolen sum ended up in Norway, Sweden, and Turkey.

The man who received the harshest sentence, a 25-year-old from Eastern Norway, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. He had an active role in the robbery, including talking with the artist over the phone and laundering 300,000 kroner (around $34,000) of the stolen sum. He was also convicted of possessing almost 30 kilograms of hashish. His sentence is due to be reassessed in the Frostating Court of Appeal.

A friend of the 25-year-old, a 26-year-old man also from Eastern Norway, received a similar sentence of six years and two months. He admitted guilt to possession of almost 30 kilograms of hashish, but denied involvement in the robbery. Both men were in open prison in Eastern Norway during the robbery.

The third man to appeal the verdict, another 26-year-old from Eastern Norway, was convicted for severe money laundering of part of the stolen sum and was sentenced to 88 hours of community service. His appeal was not upheld.

The prosecution believes that parts of the stolen sum were transferred as bitcoin to a person central to the Foxtrot network, a Swedish criminal network. Furthermore, a Swedish man convicted in the case is believed to have ties with the Foxtrot network. However, none of the six men were charged with having connections to the Foxtrot network. Despite this, the prosecution argued that their connection to the Foxtrot circle should affect the severity of their sentences. However, the court disregarded any connections to Foxtrot in deciding the sentences.