This form of fraud affects the foundation of care via the Personal Budget (PGB), which is intended for the weak in society. That is what the court in Assen said about the actions of a 63-year-old healthcare provider.
The man has been cheating with care money for years. The inhabitant of Culemborg was the caregiver of three needy people from Assen and Hoogeveen. They had been allocated a PGB budget by the municipality to purchase care themselves. The clients had to fill in on declaration slips how many hours of care they had received from the man. According to the court, the care provider instructed them to declare many more hours than the care was actually provided.
He has therefore pleaded guilty to forgery. This took place over a period of more than three years: from the beginning of 2017 to October 2020. It stopped when the man was caught after a random check by the municipality of Hoogeveen.
445,000 euros in PGB money collected
The care provider claimed that he provided daily assistance and daytime activities to the needy. But on many occasions when he would have provided care according to the declarations, it turned out that he had not even been to the clients’ place of residence. He was in Culemborg or on holiday abroad.
In total, more than 445,000 euros in PGB money was transferred to the suspected care provider. The man admits that he has received a portion unjustly. How much exactly is difficult to prove. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has calculated that it is at least 107,600 euros. The court agrees with that calculation.
Repay more than 107,600 euros
The man was sentenced to 240 hours community service and five months in prison. The money that the resident of Culemborg has wrongly received must be repaid to the State. The court finds it amiss that he abused the PGB system. “This kind of fraud leads to disruption of funded care for people who need help.”