For two years, the man raised income support, even though he received money all the time through his company.
From Espoo a man defrauded his hometown of more than 18,000 euros in income support. The man was convicted of gross fraud.
The scam took place between 2011 and 2013.
A man in his forties received income support, even though he was running a business at the same time. The man also failed to declare the S benefit bonuses he received.
In court the man justified his actions by saying that it was business income, which should not have been declared because the expenses of the activity exceeded the income received.
The man had not mentioned business activities when applying for income support.
It appears from the court documents that the man was considered a “challenging customer” in the city of Espoo.
The West Uusimaa district court found the man born in 1975 guilty of gross fraud. He was sentenced to a five-month suspended sentence.
In addition, the man was ordered to pay 12,000 euros back to the city. Some of the overpaid subsidies had already been repaid earlier.
Man appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal. He demands that the compensation amount be moderated to 3,000 euros. The man cited the weak success of his business and the fact that S-bonuses should not be counted as income.
According to the Court of Appeal, income support is not intended to support loss-making business operations.
Payments related to the husband's business activities had also been directed to the joint account of the husband and his mother. According to the court, it indicated that the man tried to hide his income from the city of Espoo.
Helsinki the court of appeal considered that the man had received unjustified support of a good 18,000 euros, which was slightly less than the district court's estimate. The Court of Appeal also noted that the city's practice in considering S-bonuses was not consistent.
With the change in guilt, the man's sentence was reduced to four months' suspended imprisonment.
Regarding damages, the judgment of the district court was not changed.
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