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Raids Across Germany Hit Jobcenter Coaching Fraud and Sex-Extortion Network

Investigators prioritized asset seizures to trace proceeds supporting criminal cases.

Overview

  • Berlin police searched 25 locations in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, securing business records and data carriers for analysis.
  • A 42-year-old suspected ringleader was arrested on a warrant in the Berlin case, which prosecutors say involved false billing of coaching measures totaling about €891,000.
  • At least 15 suspects—11 men and 4 women—are under investigation for allegedly charging for jobseeker coaching that was not provided or only partly delivered between May 2021 and at least July 2023.
  • In a separate Flensburg-led action, roughly 600 officers searched homes of more than 70 suspects across Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and the Saarland over alleged sex-extortion.
  • Authorities cite a known six-figure loss in the Flensburg probe, warn of significant underreporting by victims, and report seizures of cash, gold bars, luxury watches, account documents and electronic media as money-laundering inquiries proceed.