Germany gang sentenced for 18.7 million euro social security fraud

The German Federal Court of Justice has upheld convictions against a criminal gang involved in large-scale illegal employment and social security fraud. The primary defendant received a sentence of five years and three months in prison, while two accomplices were sentenced to three years and ten months and two years and ten months, respectively.

Investigations by the Augsburg Main Customs Office revealed that the group operated an electrical installation company in Germany since 1995. Between September 2016 and August 2021, the gang employed more than 1,300 workers from Serbia on various construction sites without paying required social security contributions. To conceal the illegal employment, workers were falsely registered with Serbian service companies. The scheme resulted in an estimated loss of approximately 18.7 million euros to the social security system.