The circulating headline — “Drøbak couple accused” — is backwards. The Drøbak couple are the injured party. The accused, a man and a woman in their 30s from the Oslo area, have been indicted for aggravated fraud of at least 31 million kroner, between 2017 and 2025. NRK calls the spouses “Rolf” and his wife. We are not naming the accused. They are not convicted on this file. The woman, through lawyer Stian Mæland, does not admit guilt. The man’s lawyer, Nicolai Skjerdal, had no comment on the indictment. The trial is 15 February, four days, at Follo og Nordre Østfold district court in Ski.

Police took the complaint in May 2025, threats and aggravated fraud. A month later, in June, they arrested the pair at a campsite at Kjærstranda, Larvik. Prosecutor Mathias Emil Hager, Øst police district: a serious case, a very large sum, and, in its wake, other crime. The indictment also puts obstruction of justice and corruption. The man is already convicted, on another file, of aggravated fraud. Prosecutors say the two tried to make the authorities, especially the prison service, believe he was seriously mentally ill, to avoid serving a sentence or to cut it. That they misled a psychiatrist into false information. That they offered him 25,000 kroner. Hager: you sometimes wonder about medical certificates; an indictment like this, he had not taken out before.

The victims’ story, in the investigation and in NRK’s interview, starts in autumn 2017. A stranger at the door, moss on the roof, a trades firm. Invoice with VAT, paid. Then paint, stone on the drive. Then a six-figure loan, back in two months, with decent interest. Rolf doubted, gave in, saw a small investment. The money did not come back. Other requests came. If they did not lend more, they would not recover what they had given. The couple took bank loans. They sold the house, the motorhome, the car.

The woman is charged with aiding: her account, contact with the couple. And with aggravated money laundering. That is the charge, not the proof. Rolf is glad there is now an indictment of two people. In 2018 he was told the man had bank trouble and had to send a million kroner to someone else; then 980,000 moved on. The two intermediaries were tried in Ski for receiving. They did not admit guilt. They got 120 days for negligent receiving and a million in damages to Rolf’s wife. That is a judgment on one end of the chain, not a verdict on the 31 million.

31 million is “at least”, in the indictment: transfers, investments, valuables, cash, over eight years. NRK earlier wrote 32. The difference sits in the papers, not in a headline. The physical threats, if they hold, will be tried. Until 15 February, the accused are accused.

Drøbak is the victims’ town. Oslo is the accused’s area. Larvik is the arrest. Ski is the courtroom. Four places, a file that is not closed.

Image: Góngora, Drøbak harbour, 12 July 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The photograph shows the victims’ town, not the courtroom.

Sources consulted: Ektepar i Drøbak svindlet for minst 31 millioner — NRK; Skal ha svindlet ektepar for over 30 millioner — Ås Avis.