A Thessaloniki court has convicted 37 elderly repatriates from Georgia for defrauding Greece’s welfare system by using forged documents to claim uninsured elderly benefits from the Social Solidarity Benefits Agency (OPEKA).
The group, part of a larger pool of 85 defendants, faced trial at the Thessaloniki Single-Member Misdemeanor Court, with some having passed away during the proceedings and others acquitted.
After a lengthy hearing, the 37 men and women were found guilty of charges including falsifying certifications, using forged documents, and fraud. They received prison sentences ranging from 14 to 28 months, all suspended for three years. Their defense hinged on claims of being misled by intermediaries who handled the application process, leaving them unaware of the illegality.
According to the case file, the defendants submitted counterfeit documents, translated into Greek and purportedly issued by Georgia’s Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Protection. These papers falsely certified that they were not registered in Georgia’s pension system and received no old-age, disability, or other benefits. The scam, which took place in 2018-19, saw some successfully pocket monthly payments exceeding €200, with individual fraud amounts reaching over €13,000 in certain cases. Others failed to secure the benefits after Central Macedonia Region officials flagged the documents for authenticity checks.
The Greek Embassy in Tbilisi later confirmed that the certificates were not issued by Georgian authorities and lacked the required official seals, exposing the deception. The ruling marks a significant crackdown on welfare fraud in Greece, spotlighting vulnerabilities in the system exploited by repatriated communities.