More and more German cities are discovering systematic fraud with the social benefits, known as Bürgergeld. Information from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin shows that the abuses are carried out by well-organized structures similar to the mafia, several German media outlets have reported in recent weeks.
"Preussische Allgemeine" quotes a spokeswoman for the Employment Agency in Gelsenkirchen, who explains the scheme. According to her, the fraudsters, who are mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe, first find families with several children - most often from Bulgaria or Romania. They register the adults officially as working, but with low incomes - for example, part-time auxiliary work in construction, cleaning or as kitchen helpers. Officially, incomes of up to 556 euros per month per person (the so-called Minijob) are declared, but in reality people work full-time, with the salary beyond these 556 euros being earned illegally. The officially declared low incomes allow these people specially brought to Germany to receive the so-called Bürgergeld from the state - social benefits that guarantee the subsistence minimum.
"Preussische Allgemeine" also explains why families with more children are preferred - because they can receive more money than childless ones. However, the majority of the funds allocated by the state end up in the pockets of the organizers of the scam, the publication emphasizes.
"This is immigration into the social system"
They also have another means of exploitation - renting out apartments in dilapidated buildings for very high rents. In addition to social benefits, those accommodated in these apartments also receive the right to rent and heating benefits, which are again collected by the organizers.
In this regard, the mayor of Gelsenkirchen, Karin Welge, told the "Berliner Tagesspiegel": "I think it would make sense for only people who have been here for some time and are supporting their families on their own to claim social benefits. Because what is happening now is effectively immigration into the social system." According to an employee of the Berlin Labor Office, the criminal structures in this area are organized with a high level of professionalism. "For example, this also involves false address registrations, false employment contracts and rental agreements. They also offer translation services when visiting German institutions, for example during an appointment at the employment office."
According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, in 2024, 123,379 suspicious cases of social welfare recipients were checked in the country, with over 100,000 of them confirmed. However, only 44,000 were handed over to the prosecutor's office, writes "Preissische Allgemeine".
According to the Employment Agency in Berlin, there will be an opportunity to counteract criminal schemes when the obligation for electronic payment of funds is introduced, as well as for automatic data exchange between the various departments. A similar move is provided for in the coalition agreement of the conservative and social democrat government.
At the same time, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of foreigners without a German passport who receive social benefits - currently almost 50 percent of them are not German citizens. This is about 2.6 million people, the "Preissische Allgemeine" points out and continues with the figures: in the first half of 2024, foreigners received 11.2 billion euros in state benefits, and German citizens - 12.4 billion. The total amount of benefits granted last year is 50.5 billion euros.
Sanctions for those who do not follow the rules
Due to the scale of abuses, Labor Minister Berbel Bass is considering a change in the mechanism for granting social benefits. "We need to check much more carefully whether people really have the right to free movement - because it is often day laborers brought in by vans who become victims of exploitation." However, this requires an intensive exchange of data between financial services, employment services, family funds and security services.
For his part, the CDU Secretary General Carsten Linemann told "Stern" that the reform of the social assistance system is unlikely to take place this year - quality is more important than speed. Linemann is in favor of completely withdrawing benefits from all those who do not meet the requirements of the employment services. According to him, those who receive social assistance should actively make efforts to find and start work.
Meanwhile, Berbel Bas' ministry plans to introduce penalties for those who fail to show up for consultations at job centers. She says she doesn't have exact figures on how many people are violating the requirements, but it's not uncommon for half of the scheduled appointments to not take place.