Suspicion of fraud

Pensioner concealed additional income

The 61-year-old woman from Unterland is spared a criminal record.(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

A pensioner stood trial in Feldkirch because she had been receiving equalization allowances unlawfully for months. She now has to pay back 2212 euros to the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA).

The 61-year-old woman from Unterland was probably thinking in the short term when she filled out the application for the equalization supplement from the Pension Insurance Institution. Although the pensioner worked part-time as a carer in Germany, she concealed this by answering "no" to the question about additional income. The application went through and the pension insurance institution transferred around 320 euros to the woman over several months - a welcome extra income for the previously unblemished woman in addition to her part-time job as a carer in Allgäu, where she earned 330 euros.

The PVA dragged the woman to court
An anonymous complaint finally changed everything. The handwritten letter stated, among other things, that the woman was receiving welfare benefits and had also been permanently in Germany from July 2022 to January 2023. As a result, the 61-year-old was summoned by the PVA. In the end, the PVA takes the woman to court on suspicion of fraud and now wants around 6,000 euros back.

It's not true that I lived in Germany. I live with my sister in the lowlands to save money.

Die Angeklagte vor Gericht

In the trial at Feldkirch District Court, the defendant denies the allegations: "I live with my sister in the lowlands to save money," she says. She would work twice a week as a carer in the Allgäu, but would always go home in the evening. She only visits her son in northern Germany from time to time. Regarding the concealment of the additional income, she says: "I didn't know that I had to declare marginal employment." Judge Lisa Pfeifer followed up: "You read through the application and it says that any additional income must be declared." Then she made a mistake, the pensioner apologizes.

30 hours of community service
Because she has no criminal record and is willing to make amends, the matter is settled out of court. The pensioner must now pay back 2212 euros to the pension insurance institution within six months. The 61-year-old was also ordered by the court to carry out thirty hours of community service.