Twelve Divorces for Widow's Pension in Graz: Investigations Closed
According to police investigations, this resulted in damages of up to 326,000 euros. The Graz public prosecutor's office has now closed the case.
Regarding a corresponding report by the "Kleine Zeitung" (Tuesday edition), the public prosecutor's office referred to the edict files of the Ministry of Justice upon request. It stated regarding the closure of the investigation, among other things: "The offense of fraud explicitly requires that the deceived and disposing persons must be identical. If the damage only occurs through a further action by the perpetrator or a third party, there is a lack of immediacy, and therefore no fraud is present."
Only the respective divorce judges were deceived. The PVA had always provided the couple with the corresponding divorce papers. It was only on the twelfth occasion that the payment of the widow's pension was refused.
Report on suspicion of serious commercial fraud
According to police investigations, the two also led a model marriage and never lived apart; there was no breakdown of the marriage. The couple's surroundings were reportedly unaware of the repeated marriages and divorces. In any case, the couple was reported by the police on suspicion of serious commercial fraud.
According to the closure edict, the two accused exercised their right to refuse to testify. Furthermore, the edict stated: "The undoubtedly long-standing abusive behavior of the two accused does not fulfill any criminal offense, so the investigation was closed in accordance with paragraph 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure."
Collected twelve widow's pensions: Police investigated
In December 2024, the state police directorate made the case public. At that time, it was stated that the now 73-year-old widow had married her second husband for the first time in 1982. She divorced him for the first time six years later. This gave her a renewed claim to a widow's pension. The couple, who always lived together in the same household, practiced this approach eleven more times until 2022.
In doing so, the woman was alternately paid the legally entitled widow's pension or a severance payment - amounting to 2.5 times the annual amount of the widow's pension - after a waiting period of two and a half years. After the last divorce in May 2022, the pension insurance institution refused to grant the widow's pension again. However, the affected party contested this negative decision up to the highest court, which ultimately confirmed the legal view of the lower courts.
(APA/Red)
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