Bottle Scam Generated 177,451 Refunds

A 37-year-old drinks vendor in Cologne, Germany, collected EUR 44,362.75, about $47,000, by feeding the same bottle into a recycling machine 177,451 times. He spent around EUR 5,000 installing a magnetic sensor and wooden tunnel that allowed him to retrieve the bottle before the machine shredded it. He kept a radio beside the machine because repeating the process all day became extremely boring. An anonymous tip exposed the fraud, and a Cologne court sentenced him to 10 months in prison.

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