Duisburg prosecutor's office charges 62-year-old teacher with suspected aggravated fraud

Charges by the prosecutor's office

The proceedings relate to a period of almost 17 years. According to information about the teacher, new AU certificates were repeatedly submitted during this period. The indictment is therefore based on a continuous series of sickness notifications and certificates.

Because the charges also carry the possibility of imprisonment, the case is legally serious. The verified information does not state whether, or what further evidence, the prosecutor's office is evaluating. No specific trial date has yet been announced.

The official disciplinary proceedings against the teacher have been suspended for the time being. A verified statement says: “The disciplinary proceedings are suspended, according to earlier reports, until a decision has been made in the criminal proceedings.” No further disciplinary steps will therefore be taken until a decision is reached in the criminal proceedings.

Disciplinary proceedings suspended

The case concerns an employee in the education sector in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to Duisburg, the sources cite places including Wesel, the Düsseldorf regional government and the Lower Rhine as points of reference. It is not possible to assign individual schools or the relevant public authority more precisely on the basis of the verified facts.

Until a decision is reached in the criminal proceedings, the charges brought by the Duisburg prosecutor's office remain unresolved. In its account, the authority relies on several sources. Neither a defense nor a verdict for the 62-year-old teacher is documented in the information provided.

Current status of the proceedings

The proceedings will now determine whether the allegations can be substantiated and whether the prosecutor's office will maintain the indictment. The suspension of the disciplinary proceedings, however, does not fully bind the two proceedings to the same timetable: according to the information, it applies until a decision is reached in the criminal proceedings.

For the teacher involved, a conviction based on the charges could have serious financial and professional consequences. In addition to the possible amount to be recovered, imprisonment is possible. Because neither the amount of the damage nor any specific evidence has been confirmed, the scope of the case remains unclear.

The indictment marks a rarely documented case of a long-running employment-law dispute. Almost 17 years of sick leave would not be unusual in themselves; according to the prosecutor's office, what is critical is that the teacher is said to have been fit to work on the basis of the information available to her, yet continued to submit new certificates.