2023-10-09 16:00:00
These allowances were undue according to the body which, since January 1, 2019, has controlled the granting of these allowances in Wallonia and according to the labor auditor who is prosecuting the person concerned, his wife and four other family members against whom he demanded fines at the Nivelloise correctional hearing on September 5.
Daniel L., 48 years old, and Estera, 46 years old, the parents of thirteen children, could count on the kindness of relatives and two nephews living in Wavre to welcome them, but two raids by fairly well-informed investigators did not allow to assert that Daniel, an independent builder, actually lived in Belgium.
Certainly, he registered as self-employed in 2015 and opened the right to family allowances for his thirteen children who lived in Romania. The criminal investigation launched by the prosecution, however, revealed that Daniel L. does not speak French, and has neither a telephone nor a car registered in Belgium.
During the two home visits carried out in Wavre in May 2020 and September 2021, no photos or personal effects of the aforementioned were found and the family receptionist contradicted herself as to the room he would have occupied.
The bank accounts were scrutinized: no daily living expenses, no withdrawal of money. Certainly, the man issued a few invoices for two companies, but none of the managers recognized him in photos. On the other hand, they identified his two nephews Daniel (31 years old) and Adrian (29 years old). In short, the conclusion is that he and his wife unduly received 241,000 euros from October 2015 to September 2021.
False domiciliation and false independent activity
In addition to this prevention of undue perception of social rights, there are those of fraud in social criminal law, having made people believe in false domiciliation and false self-employed activity in order to allow his wife to unduly receive these family allowances.
Labor auditor Renaud Dethy demanded fines and filed an indictment for confiscation covering the amount specified above. The family’s lawyer referred to the dates of the home visits, “in the middle of covid and confinement”. The day before the second year, Daniel returned to Romania for his children’s return to school. According to her, the investigation was essentially carried out against her clients for whom she pleaded for acquittal.
In vain. Certainly, the court acquitted the mother Estera and all the other defendants (no proof that they had knowledge of the embezzlement) with the exception of her husband: fine of 16,000 euros suspended but obligation to repay the 241,000 euros claimed by the family allowance fund of Wallonia.
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