Forged papers used in housing fraud in Dutch cities

The police raided several properties in The Hague on Thursday in an investigation into the forgery of documents used to make people eligible for homes they are not entitled to. Data of hundreds of people who may of been 'helped' in this way was found. There are also signals that this type of fraudulent practice is happening in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor said to Het Parool.

The investigation in The Hague started with a raid in the home and office of a 40-year-old woman in July last year. According to the Social Affairs Inspectorate, she forged documents so that people can be placed higher on the rentals waiting lists of housing corporations in The Hague or on waiting lists for social housing. She is also suspected of forging documents to make it appear that people have a higher income, so that they can get a higher mortgage.

During the investigation two other suspects came into the picture, a 33-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman. They are suspected of forging documents like income forms from the tax authorities, payslips and employers' declaration for this same purpose. The Prosecutor believes that this has been going on since 2012. As far as is currently known, the forged documents were mainly used in The Hague and surroundings.

On Thursday the police raided two homes and three business premises in The Hague. They seized administration and digital data carriers. No arrests were made.

While there are signals that this type of practice also happens in the Netherlands' three other large cities, no investigation has been launched in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht yet. "For that we weigh up the strength of the signals and whether there is capacity", the spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor said to Het Parool.