18.06.2026 17:02
A verdict has been reached in the case known to the public as "La Casa de Samsun," which came to light when 16 billion TL was transferred to accounts through a vulnerability in a bank's mobile application. The court sentenced the Gezek brothers to 5 years in prison each, while Recep Gezek, speaking for the first time after the verdict, said, "I tried to prove my innocence for 5 years. I was the one who got burned in this story." Gezek claimed that the incident was carried out by his brother using his own phone.
In March 2022, a new development occurred in the incident known as "La Casa de Samsun" in the public eye, which came to the agenda when billions of lira were transferred to accounts due to a systemic vulnerability in the mobile application of a private bank in Samsun. The court sentenced brothers Recep (30) and Emre (35) Gezek to 5 years in prison each for "theft through the use of information systems" and ordered the bank's damages to be collected from the brothers. Following the verdict, Recep Gezek recounted the details of the incident for the first time.
"MY BROTHER DID IT FROM MY PHONE" Recep Gezek stated that his brother, with whom he lived at the time of the incident, needed a phone, saying, "Five years ago, my name was involved in an incident called 'the world's biggest robbery.' As a result, I went through a painful process for five years. Five years ago, my brother, with whom I lived in the same house, needed a phone. He didn't have a phone at that time. I gave him my phone then. Phone use was prohibited at my workplace. I couldn't use a phone for 8 hours. At that time, getting a password from mobile banking was very easy. After pressing 'I forgot my password' on my phone, it was easy to get a password via the incoming message. My brother needed money. He accessed my bank accounts. He accessed not only the bank where the incident occurred but also many of my bank accounts. The bank had small investments made with leftover money from bills. He accessed my investment account there. There is a menu called 'withdraw money' in the stock menu. The bank offers it to all its users. He writes an amount there, and it gets approved and transferred to my deposit account. He writes amounts and they go to the deposit account. Thinking, 'Is it my money, or is there a problem with the bank?' he tries from his own account and his girlfriend's account, and does this from 4-5 bank accounts. Seeing that the transaction only happened from my bank account, he transfers the money to himself and uses it. The fact that it went directly from me to him confirms that he did it. I requested from the court 'reports and camera recordings proving that I was working at those hours that day.' The judge who tried me directly said 'not necessary.' He included me in the incident," he said.
"I WAS THE ONE WHO GOT BURNED IN THIS STORY" Speaking about the billions of lira that passed into his account, Gezek said, "At that time, a transfer of 16 billion TL entered my account. This transfer only happened in my account. Later, when there were news reports, it turned out that another person in Kocaeli had done the same. In a bank used by millions of people, it only happened to 2 people. There is only the stock menu, and when you enter an amount there, it gets approved. The opposing lawyers argued in court that I interfered with the software. In the reasoned decision, they mention a technical glitch that occurred at that moment. As I said, when I requested the reports that I was working at those hours at my workplace, the judge didn't find it necessary. Because of this incident, I saw prison for the first time in my life. My work life ended, and I went through economic difficulties. When I heard that 16 billion had entered the account, no one would think such a sum could exist. When my brother first showed it, I thought he did it from his own account. I didn't think he did it from my account. There's no such thing as the excitement of being a billionaire for two days, as reported in the news. I felt not excitement but unease. Any sane person would understand that something would happen to them if they used such money. I was the one who got burned in this story. There was no intentional use. My brother accessed many of my bank accounts at that time. If such an event hadn't occurred with the bank in question, my brother would have seen there was no money to enter and would have left. And these difficulties wouldn't have happened in my life for five years. I was the one who got burned in this story. No one could have predicted that something like this would happen to them," he said.
"THEY SAY WE INTERFERED WITH THE SOFTWARE" Claiming that the bank made different allegations throughout the process, Gezek said, "It's not like a rented account as seen today. If it were, I would accept it, but it's not. My brother made a mistake. He used money whose source he didn't know. He says he started using it when the amount was small. He starts using it when the amount is small and continues. In court, the judge held me responsible for this incident. While I was trying to prove my innocence, he didn't deem it necessary. What is the source of this money? That's the important part. They say, 'They entered our investment pool, took it, and left.' They say, 'Our bank in no way approved it,' but entering the investment pool shouldn't be this easy. There's no software interference at all. This transaction was done using a phone like an iPhone 7. All technological devices in our home were examined. Nothing like that was found. The opposing side said throughout 6-7 court sessions that we interfered with the software. That's not the case. The bank was always concerned about losing evidence. The bank says the reason for this situation was a technical glitch. I don't know if it was their luck or our misfortune that this incident happened to us during a 4-5 day glitch in a bank with millions of users," he stated.
"I TRIED TO PROVE MY INNOCENCE FOR 5 YEARS" Recep Gezek also said the following on the subject:
"Before the court process, I went through a detention period. I went through a judicial control process. My brother faced difficulties after this incident. After this event, my relationship with my brother became strained. I had to stay with friends. My access to all banks in Turkey was banned. Nowadays, since any institution has a salary agreement with a bank, they ended my work life because of this. I had a profession, and I earned my living through that profession. The fact that I am the account holder and my brother used this account is basically the whole story. The verdict has been announced. We received a sentence of 5 years. Now we are preparing for the upper court. In the past, the police didn't catch us because of this incident. Yes, my brother was caught with a gun and taken to the police station. When I went there, we told my brother about this incident. We had discussed this situation with the bank at that time. The bank said they would file a complaint against us. At that time, the bank called me and asked, 'Sir, there was a mistake, where did this money come from?' If you don't know, how can we know? I tried to prove my innocence for 5 years. My location is known. The time of the withdrawal is known, and the place it was transferred to is known. Instead of finding these, the court kept postponing the hearing. Our requests were not fulfilled. In the end, I received this sentence. Most of the money was blocked in accounts. They could have easily taken it. In court, they say there is a debt of about 1.5 million TL, but the ruling on the money has not yet been given."