In 22.5 years, each of the three ladies who defrauded tens of teachers of the Schools with millions of euros were sentenced
In 2018 he spoke about a crisis of values that often undermines institutions Niki Kerameos in a joint interview she granted to “Nea” with Katerina Ziridis, owner of the Ziridis Schools founded by her father and which she took over from 1971.
It took us until February 2024 to learn through a court ruling that one of the cores of the undermining of institutions lay in the very operation of this particular private school.
The decision of the Single-Member Criminal Court of Athens sentenced Ms. Zirides and her daughters Maria and Georgina Zirides-Spentzou to 22 years and 6 months in prison each. This is the maximum penalty that can be imposed for misdemeanors.
The conviction that fell like a thunderbolt against the owners of the well-known school, which closed a few years ago drowning in debt, and the imposition of long prison terms relate to non-payment of accrued and severance benefits to employees, non-payment of Christmas and Easter gifts for the period 2015-20.
As explained in Documento by the lawyers who handled the case, of the 22.5 years that each of the three defendants received, eight have been served. The court did not rule on the suspension of the sentence, however the appeal in these cases has a suspensory effect. Therefore, if nothing changes in the appeal that will be heard by the end of the year, the convicted women will have to serve their sentences.
In fact, the decision requires payment of all owed wages, bonuses and gifts from 2015 onwards, as it recognizes the “business custom” of paying off-the-payroll remuneration.
Satisfaction with OIELE
The announcement issued by the Federation of Private Educational Officers of Greece (OIELE), which speaks of “heavy pelecy”, was enthusiastic.
“Finally, justice has spoken! After years of provocative treatment by the state and its agencies that exceeded all limits of favoritism, Mr. Katerina Ziridis, Maria Spentzou-Ziridis and Georgia Spentzou-Ziridis were faced with the responsibilities of their actions. Years of mismanagement at the expense of state funds and teachers was punished. The sentence imposed by the court is historic” the announcement states, among other things, and concludes: “We deserve warm congratulations to our struggling colleagues whose hard work and anguish were justified.”
Glorious story, glorious ending
The Athena Lyceum, as the school founded in 1933 in Piraeus by Adamantios Syrigos and then taken over by its leading teacher Georgios Ziridis, was originally called, was to become one of the largest private schools in the country. During the decades that it was housed on Kifisias Avenue, thousands of children studied in its state-of-the-art facilities for the time, while in 2002 it relocated to a large area in Spata.
In 2001, it was twinned with the Great School of Genus, but 19 years after the school was drowned in debt and closed its doors for good.
“Justification after four years”
In their statement in Documento, the lawyers Tasos Kyriakidis and Tina Parousi state: “With the publication of the no. 677/2024 of the decision of the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens which imposed on the owners and sole managers of Ziridi Schools the absolutely appropriate penalties for the violations of the labor legislation on their part, we feel justified for the trust and patience of our principals and for the struggle we are fighting with them for about four years now.”
See also:
Clap for the Areopagus (clap-a, clap-a)
Incredible case: She pretended to be a lawyer and grabbed tens of thousands of euros through advances
Farmers: How will the descent with the tractors take place in Athens – EL.AS is on its feet.
Androulakis election campaign with EU money
Deep fissures in ND and PASOK over same-sex couples – Androulakis the biggest loser
Farmers: How will the descent with the tractors take place in Athens – EL.AS is on its feet.
#Ziridi #Schools #years #prison #owners
