Sardinian engineer Giovanni Casali is being investigated for fraud by the Klagenfurt Public Prosecutor's Office in Austria. According to the charges, the 55-year-old professional from La Maddalena, with the help of an accomplice, defrauded his client, Roman Giuseppe Cavalchini, by "falsely stating that the payments made would be used as a down payment" for the purchase of "building materials in Romania" that never arrived: a sum of €42,000. Casali denies all charges and maintains he never saw a penny of the transactions, which allegedly took place between the alleged victim and the other accused businessman. Indeed, he emphasizes that he performed professional services for which he was never paid.
While there was no fraudulent intent, Casali's is unfortunate: as he himself admits in his defense briefs filed with the Austrian authorities, similar complaints have been filed against him, with several clients feeling defrauded after entrusting him with large sums of money and never seeing the work completed . "But I've never been convicted," the engineer is keen to point out, "so much so that I still practice." Even though he had been suspended by the Sardinian Association of Engineers.
The episode on the other side of the Alps is linked to a real estate transaction involving Maria Rain: the Italian investor wanted to carry out some work, Casali performed his engineering duties (on that occasion and in other transactions envisaged by those who had hired him), but when it came to the payments for the purchase of materials, and Cavalchini handed over the money in two installments to the other (Sardinian) entrepreneur involved, problems arose: no goods and no work.
Cavalchini filed a complaint, and the investigation led to Casali (now resident in Austria) being summoned to court and the Prosecutor's Office requesting an equivalent sum.
The engineer was notified of the criminal proceedings against him. And already in October, he filed a lengthy defense brief: "My role as a technician was purely technical and did not involve any involvement in commercial negotiations. I limited myself to preparing specifications, conducting technical discussions with proposed suppliers, and requesting technical details for the Maria Rain project," he wrote.
The money transfers he is aware of, he reiterates, occurred between the victim who reported the case and the other entrepreneur. He also emphasizes that he submitted previous work at Cavalchini's request, for which he received no compensation. Casali, in turn, claims that the person who reported him engaged in improper conduct and reserves the right to file a counter-complaint. He also claims that the relationship between the other two deteriorated for reasons beyond his control and that, indeed, he attempted to resolve the problem in every way possible.
A story very similar to others in which he was the "protagonist" in Italy.
