He presented himself as a surgeon, heir, and diplomat. He was also said to have defrauded Bojan of the Cross.

Ljubljana prosecutor’s office has charged Saško Morelli with defrauding seven victims for approximately 31,000 euros through a series of lies regarding his employment and wealth. The 60-year-old resident of Ljubljana appeared via video link from prison before Judge Tanja Lombar Jenko at the Ljubljana District Court. Prosecutors allege he posed as a well-employed individual with substantial assets while borrowing money he knew he would not repay. He also allegedly left unpaid bills for accommodation and food. One victim lost roughly 10,000 euros, while others suffered smaller losses. This case follows a previous conviction in April where a judge sentenced him to four years and eight months in prison for fraud totaling over 700,000 euros. Morelli, who completed only primary school, has more than ten final criminal convictions. In the earlier trial, Judge Neva Bizjak noted that his life had been marked by criminal acts since 1998. That verdict covered 19 fraudulent schemes committed between September 2016 and August 2023 in Slovenia and Switzerland, yielding 773,500 euros. Victims included skiing champion Bojan Križaj and his son, from whom Morelli extracted over 70,000 euros. He told Križaj he was a renowned heart surgeon whose father owned a hospital in Switzerland handling cardiac and aesthetic procedures. Morelli claimed billions of euros were pending release from investment funds linked to this hospital and promised Križaj a role as operations director. The prosecutor described Morelli as a skilled speaker and actor who exploited his talents ruthlessly. He often dressed well and drove high-end cars to play roles such as a wealthy heir, a foreign surgeon with clinics in the US and Switzerland, or an investor in hospitals and hotels. He boasted of holding multi-million euro shares in investment funds waiting for liquidity. His fabricated stories included claims of friendship with a cardinal in the Vatican, ties to Calabrian mafia groups, and status as a diplomatic agent, lecturer, or head of a NATO special unit. In some cases, he leveraged victims' health issues to offer false hope. In 2023, he presented himself to several Ljubljana shops as a flood victim who had lost everything, promising to pay later for urgently needed goods. Judge Bizjak remarked during the April sentencing that if Slovenia had its own streaming service, Morelli’s story could easily become a dramatic series. Simon Wachtar, whom Morelli introduced as his driver and security guard, was also convicted in the earlier case for aiding three frauds. Wachtar stated he acted because Morelli promised him a regular job. After pleading guilty, he received one year in prison, which he can serve under weekend detention rules. In the current proceedings, defense attorney Timon Hren has not yet reached the stage of addressing guilt. The court has not determined whether Morelli will plead guilty to these new charges. Morelli is set to turn 61 soon. The legal process continues as he faces additional criminal proceedings beyond the two currently detailed. The prosecution emphasizes that despite his education level, he successfully deceived individuals by adopting prestigious personas. The financial impact on victims varies, with the current indictment focusing on a specific subset of losses distinct from the larger sum addressed in spring. The judge presiding over this latest charge is different from the one who handled the major fraud case earlier this year. Both cases highlight a pattern of behavior spanning nearly three decades according to judicial comments made previously.