- Job centers cheated with fake leases for Ukrainians
A duo is accused of defrauding job centers in Bavaria on a large scale using fake addresses for alleged Ukrainian refugees. Charges have been brought against a 28-year-old and a 46-year-old for 18 cases and 52 attempted cases of fraudulently obtaining social benefits, police and prosecutors announced. The Munich II Regional Court has not yet decided if the case will go to trial, a spokesperson said.
Investigators: Ukrainians returned home after a few days
The duo is alleged to have contacted Ukrainians via social media and organized their entry into Germany. They then supposedly registered these individuals at different locations using fake rental agreements to apply for social benefits on their behalf. However, the Ukrainians were not entitled to these benefits as they reportedly returned to their home country after a few days. It remains unclear whether the individuals involved were aware of the fraudulent scheme.
Fraudsters allegedly received around 230,000 euros from job centers
According to police and prosecutors, the job centers in Fürstenfeldbruck and Munich were defrauded of approximately 230,000 euros in total. In other cases in Freyung-Grafenau, Hof, and Altoetting, the attempts were unsuccessful. The suspected fraudsters were caught thanks to employees of the job center in Fürstenfeldbruck who noticed inconsistencies in the rental agreements of Ukrainian refugees. Upon closer inspection, the agreements showed significant similarities.
The 28-year-old was arrested in December 2023 and has been in custody since then, police and prosecutors said. The current whereabouts of the 46-year-old remain unclear, but investigators believe he is not in Germany.
The police are actively investigating the case of fraudulent social benefit claims, having arrested one of the suspects in December 2023.Despite the arrest, efforts are ongoing to locate the second suspect, as the police believe he may be outside of Germany.
