Tuesday, 10 December 2013 - 04:33
Massive fraud with financial aid
Dutch people commit fraud in droves with government funded financial assistance, collecting care, rent, and childcare assistance they are not entitled to, according to RTL Nieuws.The City of Bronckhorst in Gelderland traced at least 100 cases of fraud in one year, involving large amounts, according to mayor Fred de Graaf.
Richa Yadav/flickr
In some cases the fraudsters use false residential addresses. Young fathers "move" from the address where they live with their partner and child, pretending to have moved back in with their parents. This qualifies the mother for higher allowances of up to a few hundred euros a month.
'There are no statistics available, but our consultancy can keep track of which Cities call and their questions. We also called Cities with questions about this issue. It occurs nationwide,' according to Simon Rijsdijk, vice-president of the Dutch Association for Civil Affairs.
This form of fraud can be addressed by investigation of the address, where the official physically goes by the door. However, Cities oftentimes lack the capacity to do so, according to Rijsdijk.