Justice - The government advisor was likely a swindler - fraud trial
He has advised the NRW state government on Islamic issues for years, acting as an expert even discussing with the Federal President - now a 47-year-old man stands before the court as a suspected fraudster. He is neither a professor nor a doctor, not even having passed the teacher's exam, the defendant stated at Duisburg District Court. His academic career supposedly developed by itself.
Despite his expertise, the prosecution is not concerned with whether he did a good job. The prosecution accuses him of forgery, fraud, and the unauthorized use of academic degrees in a total of 28 cases.
"Nothing to do with modern technology"
It all started with a forged document from his teaching studies, the 47-year-old reported. Due to time constraints, he never took the state exam. To be employed as a teacher despite this, he took his wife's documents, carefully altered the first name, and made a convincing copy. "Nothing to do with modern technology," he emphasized.
Later, he forged a document for a passed doctoral thesis, the prerequisite for the doctoral title. A public authority authenticated the documents. "That opened all doors for me," the defendant said.
He continued his education, honing his rhetoric. Gradually, he built a reputation as an expert in integration and was invited as a speaker throughout the country. Eventually, the NRW Ministry of Education took notice and offered him a position as a scientific employee.
Expert in Islamic Religious Education
In the ministry, he dealt with the consequences of migration for the education system and, increasingly, with the politically controversial topic of Islamic Religious Education. His superiors were always satisfied, he recounted. Unusually quickly, he climbed the career ladder.
Teaching assignments came in addition. As a religious sociologist, he taught at universities in Bielefeld, Münster, Duisburg-Essen, and the NRW Police University. He received an award for his teaching, was invited as an expert to prominent podiums, participated in discussion forums, for example, with the former Federal President Christian Wulff.
Eventually, he advised ministers of the NRW state government, primarily on Islamic issues. "I was good and respected as a teacher and an expert," he told the judges. There were no doubts about his academic abilities. He regrets today that he falsified certificates of his formal qualifications.
Doubts became public in 2021
In 2021, the whole scam came to light, and the state of NRW ended its cooperation publicly. The Landesregierung stated at the time that there were "substantiated doubts regarding his academic career." In addition, the state filed a complaint against the 47-year-old.
The prosecutor was unimpressed by the former academic reputation of the defendant. He had forged documents, worn titles unjustly, and defrauded the state of his earnings for twelve years as a civil servant. Without the forged documents, he could not have become a civil servant.
In the trial, it is crucial that, unlike in the free economy, formal requirements must be met for civil servants.
The defendant enjoys the presumption of innocence until the verdict becomes legally binding. A judgment could be announced in two weeks.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in North Rhine-Westphalia is currently handling a case involving a 47-year-old man, who served as an advisor to the NRW government on Islamic issues, but stands accused of fraud in a Duisburg District Court.
- Despite his past role as an expert in Islamic Religious Education, the prosecution accuses him of forging documents and fraudulently obtaining titles, affecting 28 cases within the NRW state.
- At the District Court, the defendant admitted not being a professor or doctor, nor having passed the teacher's exam, explaining that he had used his wife's documents to gain employment as a teacher.
- The controversy began when it was discovered he forged a document for a passed doctoral thesis, which led to cooperation with the NRW government ending in 2021 and a complaint being filed against him.
- The criminal trial in Duisburg District Court will consider whether his false documents significantly impacted his ability to become a civil servant in North Rhine-Westphalia's public sector, where formal qualifications are crucial.
