Talk about just phoning it in... Wed Aug 3,11:14 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A court in Germany convicted a man
for fraud after he racked up huge phone bills phoning
a sex hotline from work and split the proceeds with a
woman working at the service, authorities said
Wednesday.

"He wasn't calling for the stimulation," said a
spokesman for the court in the western city of
Duesseldorf.

The court handed the 38-year-old an eight-month
suspended jail sentence for the ruse which he cooked
up with the hotline worker while working for a local
medical insurer.

German media said the man had made more than 160 calls
within half a year, at a cost to his company of almost
16,000 euros ($19,700).