A 62-year-old German teacher who reportedly remained on paid sick leave for 16 years without returning to the classroom has been charged with fraud and forgery, in a case that has raised questions about oversight of long-term sick leave among civil servants. According to German public broadcaster Tagesschau, citing the Duisburg public prosecutor’s office, the teacher is accused of fraud in 11 particularly serious cases and forging two documents. Investigators allege she received more than €248,000 in salary payments between March 2021 and March 2025 despite being capable of working. The charges were filed at the Regional Court in Duisburg, and the court must now decide whether to open a full trial.The woman, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, was employed at a vocational college in Wesel, a town in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region. She reportedly stopped teaching in February 2009 but continued receiving her full salary as a civil servant while submitting medical certificates to justify her absence. The case first attracted widespread attention in 2025, when officials sought to establish whether she remained medically unfit to teach. The subsequent criminal investigation has now brought fresh allegations, including the suspected falsification of medical documents connected to her scuba-diving activities. How the 16-year absence came under scrutiny The case came to light after education authorities reviewed the teacher’s personnel file and questioned why she had remained away from work for so many years without undergoing a formal medical assessment. According to earlier reporting by VICE, a new school administrator initiated scrutiny of the arrangement after years of continued salary payments. The teacher challenged an order requiring her to undergo a medical examination, arguing that the demand was unjustified after such a prolonged period of certified illness. A court rejected her challenge and ordered her to pay €2,500 in legal costs, according to earlier reports.The dispute raised questions about why an official medical assessment had not been ordered much earlier. Under the civil-service system, teachers in Germany can receive their full salary while medically unfit for duty, unlike many private-sector employees, whose sickness benefits are subject to time limits.However, the entitlement does not exempt civil servants from medical assessments or disciplinary procedures. Authorities can examine whether an employee remains fit to work and whether retirement on medical grounds is necessary. €248,000 in alleged losses and two suspected forged documents The latest criminal case concerns payments made between March 2021 and March 2025. According to the Duisburg prosecutor’s office, the teacher allegedly submitted certificates stating that she was unable to work, despite knowing that she was medically capable of performing her duties. Prosecutors allege that these documents persuaded the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, her employer, to continue paying her salary. The payments under investigation total more than €248,000. The charges also include two counts of alleged forgery. Investigators suspect that the woman created two certificates declaring her fitness to scuba dive and presented them as documents issued by a doctor. According to the prosecution, the doctor named in the certificates did not exist.The distinction is important: the documents in question allegedly certified her fitness for diving, rather than her fitness to teach. Investigators are examining them as part of the wider case concerning her prolonged absence from the classroom. The prosecution period is limited to 2021–2025 because earlier potential offences are considered time-barred. The €248,000 figure therefore does not represent the total salary she may have received during her entire absence. Based on estimates reported by The Times, her total earnings over approximately 16 years could have approached €1 million. That figure is an estimate, not the amount covered by the current indictment. Scuba diving and the limits of the investigation The case has attracted attention because the teacher was reportedly an active scuba diver while on sick leave. Prosecutors allege that she forged the two diving-fitness certificates, but the investigation has not established that she was working in another profession during her absence. Earlier reports suggested that she might have operated as a naturopathic practitioner or developed a business selling skin creams. However, Tagesschau reported that investigators could not confirm indications that she had actually pursued other professional employment while on sick leave.The allegations concerning her diving activities and the suspected certificates must therefore be distinguished from claims about a second career. Neither the alleged fraud nor the forgery charges amount to a finding of guilt. The teacher has not publicly responded to the criminal allegations, according to reports. The court has yet to decide whether the indictment will be admitted and a main trial opened. Source link Post Views: 6 Post navigation An Arkansas couple said their land was reachable only by boat across Beaver Lake or through a neighbour’s property; they paid $8,000 for an 18-foot easement, but an appeals court upheld a route along the boundary Israel election results: Neither Netanyahu nor opposition wins majority; what happens next?
