Previous conviction collected

Unlawfully received 11,000 euros in benefits

The defendant must now pay a fine.

(Bild: Chantal Dorn / Krone Kreativ, Krone KREATIV)

A 30-year-old Syrian man has received almost 11,000 euros in social benefits from the Austrian state - but without being entitled to them. On Monday, the man had to answer for this at Feldkirch Regional Court.  

"I understood that it didn't matter where my girlfriend lived or slept. The only important thing is that she has her registered address at Kaplan Bonetti Haus in Dornbirn," the accused tried to shift the blame to the responsible clerk at the district authority during the trial. "I don't know where this information comes from. At least not from me," countered the district authority officer called as a witness during his interrogation. In any case, he is certain that he instructed the Syrian correctly when he applied for social benefits.

The Syrian is charged with aggravated commercial fraud. In just under eleven months, the worker, who lives in the lowlands, had obtained rent subsidies and other social benefits amounting to around 11,000 euros by letting his girlfriend live with him "illegally" and concealing her income from the authorities. As a result, both the accused and the 24-year-old woman illegally collected money from the state.

The district authority reacted to this and stopped the payments. In the meantime, the accused has reached a consensus with the clerk and agreed to pay back the unlawfully received money in installments.

"I am new to Austria"
Nevertheless, the Syrian was not spared a previous conviction. The council sentences him to a partial fine of 3,600 euros, half of which is suspended. The Syrian accepts the sentence and is happy not to have to go to prison. "I'm 30 years old and new to Austria. I want to pay everything back. But Austrian citizenship is important to me!" The verdict is already final