Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – ACC Dienstencheques, a Ghent-based company, committed fraud from 2018–2023, misusing unemployment benefits and service vouchers. The company was fined €40,000; directors avoided personal convictions.
As VRT news reported, the individual directors of ACC Dienstencheques either settled or were found not guilty, avoiding personal convictions. However, the company was found guilty and fined €40,000 for fiddling with the temporary unemployment and service voucher system.
The court said ACC did not act responsibly. The court criticised the company for not having a good system to prevent fraud, which allowed the fraud to continue. The Flemish government had already stopped ACC from being a service voucher provider. ACC appealed this decision, but the result is still unknown.
How did ACC Dienstencheques get away with 5 years of fraud?
The Ghent court ruled that ACC Dienstencheques committed fraud for 5 years, from January 2018 to January 2023, across multiple branches. Officials mentioned that the case looked at the misuse of unemployment benefits and service vouchers, and who was responsible in the company.
The managing director, operational manager, and administrative manager were held accountable. The company itself was also prosecuted. The court considered whether these individuals knew about or allowed the fraud to continue for years.
ACC Dienstencheques, a company based in Ghent, has faced accusations of fraud for years. Complaints started in 2018, with claims of large-scale fraud related to temporary unemployment benefits. Investigations showed that ACC wrongly claimed these benefits for employees who were still working as cleaners for clients.
Officials mentioned that the company received government money for wages and also profited from service vouchers for illegal work. The RVA, a government agency, wants the company to return the wrongly obtained benefits. The extent of the fraud suggests a planned scheme to take money from government programs.
More investigations into ACC revealed more issues with service vouchers. The company used vouchers for people who didn’t work there, like those who hadn’t started or had already left. They also claimed vouchers for cleaning that never happened, such as when clients cancelled.
They mentioned that this is a misuse of public funds meant for honest jobs. The case against ACC has more evidence, and it raises questions about how the service voucher system is monitored and how fraud is prevented. The full financial impact and legal outcomes are still unknown as investigations continue.
