Allgäu mayor on trial for alleged fraud
They are alleged to have defrauded the public of a horrendous sum: The mayor of the East Allgäu municipality of Seeg and the head of a care service will stand trial in the Nuremberg-Fürth district court from Monday (9.00 a.m.) for allegedly defrauding millions in the care sector.
The public prosecutor's office accuses local politician Markus Berktold, together with the head of the care service, of unlawfully billing up to 2.1 million euros from the so-called care rescue fund between 2020 and 2022, according to a court spokeswoman. In some cases, the CSU politician is also alleged to have subsequently created fictitious invoices. He then allegedly used the money to plug financial bottlenecks at his own companies.
The charges against the mayor also include breach of trust. As the person responsible for an association, the head of the town hall is alleged to have transferred around 825,000 euros to his private account and not asserted lease claims of around 570,000 euros due to the association for no reason. According to the public prosecutor's office, the mayor has not yet provided any information on the allegations.
The head of the care service and his wife, who has also been charged, are alleged to have unlawfully received a further 270,000 euros from the care rescue fund and used it to pay off private debts. The proceedings against the woman were severed before the start of the trial for health reasons, as she is currently only partially fit to stand trial, as the court spokeswoman said. This means that only the local politician and the care service manager will stand trial on Monday. Both have been in custody since January of this year.
The proceedings were initiated by the Bavarian Central Office for Combating Fraud and Corruption in the Healthcare Sector (ZKG) at the Nuremberg Public Prosecutor General's Office. Eleven trial days are planned for the trial until mid-January.
In Central France, a similar case of fraud in the care sector is under investigation. Authorities are examining allegations of misuse of funds by a local official, similar to the unlawful billing and creation of fake invoices in the Allgäu case.
The processes for addressing such crimes in Swabia, Germany, involve lengthy trials and potential jail time for those found guilty, as evident in the case of the Allgäu mayor.
Source: www.dpa.com
