German Police Raids Tied to Welfare Fraud, Illegal Gambling

Submitted by Associated Press on

Written by :

Associated Press

Published on :

BERLIN (AP) — Around 600 investigators searched 31 buildings in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and police arrested a family of four Tuesday in connection with alleged money laundering, organized crime and welfare fraud.

Police and special units from the state office that investigates organized crime arrested a 46-year-old man, his 42-year-old wife and the couple’s two sons, 24 and 28, at the family’s mansion in the city of Leverkusen. None of their identities were released in line with German privacy rules.

Police said the family is accused of defrauding North Rhine-Westphalia of about 400,000 euros ($487,000) in social welfare benefits while living in the million-euro house.

The investigators also raided homes, offices and stores in Duisburg, Leverkusen, Gelsenkirchen and other cities in the Rhineland and Ruhr Valley, German news agency dpa reported.

In a separate operation, several hundred Berlin police officers searched a hotel in the German capital as part of an illegal gambling investigation. The officers searched 160 rooms and the basement of the hotel in the western Charlottenburg district late Monday, dpa said.

About 100 people were inside the hotel at the time of the raid, local media reported.

The raids in Berlin and western Germany did not appear related to a global sting operation announced Tuesday that involved an encrypted communications platform developed by the FBI.

Related Content

Rapper Chocolate MC, Las Vegas Casino Sued Over Alleged Rape of Teen

Rapper Chocolate MC, Las Vegas Casino Sued Over Alleged Rape of Teen

Chocolate MC is already incarcerated separately regarding an attempted murder-for-hire plot in Florida.
South Florida Casino Carjacking Suspect Captured One Month Later

South Florida Casino Carjacking Suspect Captured One Month Later

Julio Salermo, 33, was charged with robbery/carjacking on Tuesday, one month after the incident occurred at the Miccosukee Casino & Resort outside of Miami.
Game Fixer, Jalen Smith Sentenced to Six Year Prison Term

Game Fixer, Jalen Smith Sentenced to Six Year Prison Term

(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- The man called the "fixer" of a scheme to rig college basketball games will spend six years in federal prison.

Vegas Casino Flamingo Theft Trial Kicks Off With Witness Testimony

Las Vegas Casino Flamingo Theft Trial Kicks Off With Witness Testimony

The trial for a Canadian tourist accused of stealing and torturing a flamingo from a casino pool began on Wednesday with a security guard on his smoke break during a graveyard shift testifying about a voice crackled over the radio, “someone took a flamingo.”