The convicted former millionaire fraudster Jürgen Harksen, who also conned prominent investors out of their money in the 80s and 90s, is dead. He died on Tuesday at the age of 63 at his long-time residence in Palma de Mallorca, as did his lawyer Gerhard Strate of Deutsche Press agency announced. In doing so, he confirmed corresponding reports in the “Hamburger Abendblatt” and the “Bild” newspaper.
As the Hamburger Zeitung reports, the former con artist’s excessive alcohol addiction was his downfall. Jürgen Harksen died of multiple organ failure after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage following a fall.
Dieter Wedel was inspired by Jürgen Harksen’s life story
In the ARD two-part series “Gier,” which was broadcast in 2010, director Dieter Wedel was inspired by Harksen’s life story, with Ulrich Tukur in the lead role. Harksen, who was born in Flensburg, had skillfully persuaded investors to make investments, but in the opinion of the judiciary there was no real business idea behind them, but rather a kind of pyramid scheme.
He was considered a dazzling figure with a penchant for luxury, which even big names from show business as well as doctors and lawyers fell for. Dieter Bohlen was also one of the celebrities. The “DSDS” star is said to have invested three million marks at the time – but he got it back.
Jürgen Harksen also dragged Dieter Bohlen into his crooked business
In 1993 he fled to South Africa and thus escaped the reach of the German justice system for years. He continued his mischief at the Cape of Good Hope. He continued to raise money for his non-existent businesses to finance his luxury life in South Africa.
In 2003, Harksen was convicted of fraud in Hamburg. The fraudster was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and released in 2008.