'I am the real victim' video from the 'boss' who defrauded thousands: I went away to clear my mind

Sinem Çekinmez, the owner of Bellapais Beauty Center, which has 3 branches in the city, sold large service packages to her customers at prices lower than their market value.

It is alleged that Çekinmez, who had not paid her employees' salaries for 5 months, also took out loans from banks and tradesmen cooperatives, and fled abroad without paying her debts to suppliers.

Upon receiving the news on the morning of the incident, employees went to the branches of the beauty center early in the day.

The employees, who looted the workplace in exchange for their unpaid wages, stole all the items, primarily the devices used in procedures, as well as computers, paintings, flower pots, and tables and chairs, and loaded them into their vehicles. Stating that they had been defrauded, the employees filed a criminal complaint against Sinem Çekinmez.

"THE VILLA I LIVE IN IS RENTED"

Sinem Çekinmez, the owner of Bellapais Beauty Center, whose name has been linked to fraud incidents, posted a video message on social media claiming that she was the one being victimized. Çekinmez said, "I have been trying to understand what I have been through for the last 3 days. I have never experienced such unhealthy things, and I could not believe what I saw.

We had a difficult 3 months, as happens in every company. This didn't just happen to us. Turkey is going through a challenging process. May God make everyone's business successful, but there are tradesmen going bankrupt one after another.

It is true that I could not pay salaries for 2 and a half months. We always moved forward by accommodating each other. Bellapais is a 23-year-old institution, and I have always worked on how to improve my business.

I didn't even buy a house for myself. The villa I live in is rented. I have always calculated how I can improve my business and what I can contribute to Adana. As I think about what I have been through and see what the people I called my core staff have done, I am in shock.

Canan and Sevgi, who never left my house 24/7, and my core staff whom I called my family. I have always fought alone. I promised the girls about their salaries, and I was ashamed when I couldn't do it. If I were going to be a fraudster, I wouldn't have allowed that company to be looted; I would have organized it beforehand. I would have emptied that company, and no one would have known," she said.

"I WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM ADANA TO CLEAR MY MIND"

Explaining that she left Adana to clear her head, Çekinmez claimed that her workplace was looted by her core staff, stating, "I wanted to get away from Adana to clear my mind a little. My core staff knows this. When I got on the plane and went to Istanbul, I saw on the camera that my core staff had started looting my workplace. I called the police myself and reported that they were looting my workplace. If I were a fraudster, why would I call the police myself? If I wanted to defraud people, I wouldn't wait 23 years to do it. I wouldn't do it after building my reputation," she said.

"I INVESTED OVER 200 MILLION LIRAS"

Stating that she invested over 200 million liras in her branch at the shopping mall, Çekinmez defended herself by saying she was not a fraudster, "I invested over 200 million liras in the store at the shopping mall. If I were a fraudster, I wouldn't have opened that branch or made that investment. Think logically for a moment.

When I landed in Istanbul, the people I called my main core staff notified loan sharks and had trucks piled up in front of my workplace, and they looted it. I still cannot believe what I saw.

I trusted these people with my life and my home. I took these people on vacations abroad; I did everything. I have never been so wrong in my life. I say to myself, I couldn't have been this wrong.

I saw living zombies. I saw people's intentions and the filth inside them reflected outward. Everything bad happens in life; as long as a person is healthy. These eyes saw what a person could do for a device," she said.