Fraudster busted

Masseur swindled 60,000 euros in social benefits

Although his business was registered as dormant, the Tyrolean is said to have continued working as a masseur (symbolic image).

(Bild: Hetizia/stock.adobe.com)

The special police unit for social benefit fraud has once again uncovered a blatant case in Tyrol. A supposedly unemployed masseur is said to have defrauded himself of social benefits for years. The loss amounts to more than 60,000 euros.

The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) had put investigators on the trail of the 46-year-old local man. The suspicion: serious commercial social benefit fraud. "Extensive investigations ultimately revealed that the man is alleged to have unlawfully received social benefits totaling around 60,000 euros from summer 2021 to April 2024," according to the special unit.

The suspect is alleged to have deceived the relevant authorities regarding his professional activities and income.

"Unemployed man" worked in a hotel
"Although the suspect's massage business was dormant during the period of the crime and he was simultaneously receiving unemployment benefits for training and further education, he is said to have continued to work independently as a masseur in a hotel," the investigators describe. 

The invoices issued for these services were issued in the name of his business. "The income generated in this way was well above the permitted de minimis limit, but was not reported. This is said to have resulted in a loss of around 53,000 euros."

Sickness benefit and rent subsidy
The 46-year-old is also suspected of having wrongfully received sick pay (€5,600) and rent subsidy (€1,600) during this period. The accused will be reported to the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck.