Court convicts 54-year-olds from Eastern Europe who worked for a senior couple in Wehr / She has no explanation for the shortfall.
The Bad Sckingen district court has sentenced a 54-year-old nurse for embezzlement to a fine of 1,800 euros (30 daily rates of 60 euros each). She was acquitted of the main charge of sevenfold fraud.
. The woman from Eastern Europe was placed by an agency for a couple in Wehr as a so-called 24-hour caregiver in July 2017. After the contract had expired, she signed a private follow-up contract with the officially appointed carers of the 85-year-old couple. “They were extremely satisfied with the nurse, she really did a good job,” said a relative of the couple, who had taken on the care of the man on a voluntary basis. In order to submit accounts to the office, she urged the nurse to collect and present the receipts of all purchases. The household money was allotted to her via cashier’s checks of 1,000 euros a month.
1014 euros were missing
In a statement in May 2019, she found a deficit of 1014 euros, for which there were no receipts. On closer inspection of the receipts she came across items that could not have been intended for the couple: “The old people didn’t drink champagne or use eye shadow,” the supervisor cited as examples. The defendant assured by means of an interpreter that she always billed everything correctly and presented all receipts. She had no explanation for the shortfall. The court assumed that she had cut the money for herself and thus embezzled. The second allegation involved a higher sum: According to public prosecutor Florian Schumann, she is said to have cheated on the 85-year-old people in need by around 11,000 euros. For seven months she accidentally received double her salary without reporting this obvious error. There was a close, trusting relationship with the couple, so that they were obliged to do so in accordance with the principle of good faith. This is a deception through omission in order to unlawfully enrich oneself – thus the criteria for fraud are met in seven cases, Schumann stated and demanded a total fine of 90 daily rates of 60 euros each.
Now service staff in Switzerland
However, the court saw the fault with the professional supervisor, who was responsible for the wages and social security payments. Due to an accounting misunderstanding, she transferred the nurse’s 1,800 euros net salary twice for seven months. The defendant stated that she had registered the increase in her account, but that she saw it as payment for additional work in the house and garden.
In fact, there was an oral agreement about this without specifying a specific amount. She was convinced that she owed the money, since she had worked well beyond the written contract.
Six days and six hours had been agreed in it. In fact, however, it was available around the clock the full week. The volunteer supervisor called it “nonsense” that a nurse could expect a net wage of 3600 euros, especially since there was also free board and lodging in an independent apartment. She also had vacation and leisure time entitlement.
After the irregularities were discovered, the nurse was put on the street without notice. “I slept in the car for five days,” she said. She now works as a service worker in Switzerland.
In the grounds of the judgment, the judge made it clear that the defendant had unjustifiably enriched herself by withholding the 11,000 euros and was therefore obliged to repay. However, this is a civil matter without criminal consequences. Silence alone is not a deception and therefore also not an offense of fraud.
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