Deaf Danish fraud case
Callie Frye, Daily Moth Reporter:
Hello. There is a big incident in Denmark that has impacted their deaf community. It’s about a fraud case related to interpreting services that is in the courts. It’s possibly the largest fraud in Danish history with the amount of money taken from the Danish government.
Four deaf men are charged in the case with abusing a law called the Personal Assistance Act, or “PA” for short. It allows them to receive money from the government to pay for interpreters in the workplace. But the men allegedly spent money on other things. I reached out to a deaf person from Denmark about this case to get more information on this case and I will share. Check this out.
Lea: Hello! My name is Lea. I’m from Denmark. Where is it? It’s in the northern part of Europe.
[Image showing location of Denmark on a Google Maps screenshot. It is located directly north of Germany.]
Callie: Can you explain about how deaf people benefit from the Personal Assistance Act in the workplace in Denmark?
Lea: This situation is about a court case about fraud with government funds that is for interpreters. In Denmark, we have a law that if you’re a deaf person and work in an environment that requires an interpreter, you’re allowed to have an interpreter from the government. They will pay for it. If you work full time, which in Denmark means 37 hours, you’re allowed to have an interpreter for 20 hours. If you work less, then you have less interpreter hours. It scales. That law has been in place for a long time. The government pays for interpreters, which means a company would need to request funds to reimburse interpreters.
Callie: How did the Danish government find out and charge the four men? Was there a whistleblower?
Lea: How did this start? In 2018, there was a man who was a former employee of a certain company who came out and admitted that the company misused funds for private use. This has been going on for a long time. It’s caused shock waves in Denmark and now the “states” in the country have to investigate all the previous payments. They found that four men, who are deaf, who own various companies, received funds that were supposed to be for interpreters but they used it for private purposes.
Callie: About how much did the four men receive from the government? And how many times did they request for funding and receive it all together? Do you have a number?
Lea: The judge wants to look at all the money given to them, which is 30 million Krones. It is the equivalent of 4.7 million USD. Where did that money go? That’s being investigated. There are also 614 different transactions — for example, there might be one bill for four hours of interpreting services that is sent to “State 1.” But that bill is also sent to “State 2,” “State 3,” and “State 4.” It’s the same four hours of interpreting and is duplicated. That’s just one. There is another invoice for another day’s service with certain hours. So there’s a lot to go through.
Callie: I read in an article that the court case started on September 8. How many days will it take before a verdict is reached? Can you describe what it will look like in the future?
Lea: The trial started in September and will continue into February 22. There will be 30 witnesses called who are deaf, interpreter users, interpreters themselves, people from the government, former employees, and others. The four defendants will sit in the court and answer questions on why they formed their companies, their purposes, who owns which, and the amount of ownership. That’s what they will be questioned about.
Callie: Which laws are the four accused of breaking? And what is the potential penalty if the four are convicted?
Lea: In this case, two laws were broken. The first is #279 and #268.2. The first law concerns money received from the government that is used for private reasons. The second is about the amount of money that they received.
Lea: This case will end in February. The possible penalty is 8 years in prison. But we’ll see if they get 8 years or if it will vary among the four men. We’ll see.
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Callie: Because of the fraud case, the Personal Assistance Act is now tightened to prevent scams. Did this have an impact on the Deaf community in Denmark?
Lea: This case has greatly impacted the Deaf community in Denmark. Many deaf people struggle to get sufficient interpreting hours. Or when they send applications, it will take a very long time for approval, which prolongs a deaf person’s ability to begin their jobs. Many deaf people struggle because of this.
Callie: I’m curious about the identities of the four deaf men. I’ve reached out to deaf Danish individuals but all of them gave me the same answer, that it is not allowed to know their names or share their names in public. So nobody knows. I wonder why?
Lea: In Denmark, it is law that the courts and case information are to be open to the public, but there are several unique circumstances that make an exception. The first is a closed-door case, which means that anyone who does not have a relation to the case is prohibited from attending. The second is redacting the identities, which means the media cannot identify the person — but in private, we are able to talk about the persons. The third rule is that the media cannot publish what just happened in the court. In this case, the second exception applies — that we cannot disclose the identities in the media. Why is that? It’s because in Denmark, individuals are innocent until they are convicted. So if we reveal the identities, we would be exposing them to public shame and make them appear guilty. So it’s prohibited.
Callie: Oh, I see that people can go inside the courtroom, but they can’t share information about the defendants’ names until the final verdict. If they are found guilty, their identities can be revealed. I get it. All the four defendants pleaded not guilty. The time when they will be questioned has been delayed to November. “The Daily Moth” will keep you posted about this case. Thank you, Lea!