The Public Prosecution Service today asked the court in Almelo for an acquittal against a suspect of embezzlement and subsidy fraud. Under the Social Support Act (Wmo), the municipality of Almelo transferred subsidies to two commercial companies of the suspect. Money that was intended for care, but of which the suspect gambled away a significant part in casinos and covered the shortfall with a loan. However, in the eyes of the Public Prosecution Service, there is not enough evidence that the woman embezzled that money.
The crux, according to the Public Prosecution Service, lies in the fact that the municipality of Almelo at that time did business with a commercial care agency, which had placed the suspect in companies and of which the suspect was a shareholder. At that time, there were no profit standards agreed upon in the subsidy conditions between the municipality and the companies.
Due to the absence of those rules and agreements, the suspect could withdraw money from her own company and spend it at her discretion. In this way, she may have harmed her own company, but according to the Public Prosecution Service, there was no question of unlawfully withdrawing the money during the period charged (between 2016 and 2018).
The municipality of Almelo filed two reports against the care agency for subsidy fraud in 2019. The Public Prosecution Service later terminated the case early that year: “We found that there was indeed careless and unacceptable behavior by the suspect, but there was insufficient evidence that criminal offenses had been committed.”
The municipality of Almelo then filed a complaint with the Court (a Article 12 procedure). That complaint was partially upheld in 2023. Therefore, the Public Prosecution Service had to proceed with criminal prosecution for embezzlement and brought the case today before the multiple chamber in Almelo.
The suspect admits that she spent a significant portion of the care funds received from her companies in casinos and then covered it administratively with a loan, resulting in a significant debt. However, according to the Public Prosecution Service, it cannot be demonstrated that there was fraud with the spending of those care funds, or that the suspect embezzled money amounts.
During the hearing today, the Public Prosecution Service emphasized that there is a difference between morally reprehensible conduct and committing criminal offenses. The Public Prosecution Service can and must only judge the latter. In other words: whether the actions of the suspect are ethically acceptable is separate from the legal assessment in this criminal case.
The public prosecutor during the indictment: “I dare to state that a large part of the care funds received from the municipality of Almelo was not spent on care, but in the casino. I come to this request for acquittal, despite the fact that I personally have an opinion about the fact that the suspect has spent care funds in the casino. And I think the public certainly feels the same way. But that cannot and must not be decisive in the criminal assessment that is now before the court.”