A 53-year-old man from Valthermond is guilty of welfare fraud, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The man did not state the income from a pub near his home, he also traded in scrap cars or tinkered with them. A prison sentence of 15 months has been demanded against him, of which 5 months are suspended.
The case came to light in early 2021 through an anonymous report. The investigation showed that the man had 158 license plates of cross cars in his name. His partner at the time 48. The woman was previously given a community service order of 120 hours, which she has now carried out.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the man has been cheating since 2009. He had a pub behind his house, a ‘quiet cut’. A meeting point for and with his friends, the man said. Everyone put a tenner in the pot, from which drinks and food were bought. The judge found it remarkable that the man advertised the pub on the internet. The pub burned down a few years ago.
Especially if there were also artists coming. That was to inform his friends, the man said. Apart from that, he should have reported to the municipality that he had a pub that handled money, the prosecutor said. According to witnesses, there was a price list in the pub. The man denies that. He should also have reported the cross cars in his name. He did that for the cross club, the man said.
The autocross always required different scrap cars, the man said. He then took it in his name. None of this was on paper. His phone was full of commerce, the prosecutor said. The man previously reported the theft of 10,000 euros from his safe. According to the calculation, the man earned 219,000 euros, which was not reported as additional income.
The prosecutor took the passage of time into account. The suspect’s lawyer called the imprisonment of the fifty-year-old unnecessary. The municipality and community police officers had known about the pub for years. He called it absurd that the man was now being prosecuted again. If a prison sentence has to be imposed, then entirely conditionally, the lawyer pleaded.
Verdict in two weeks.