Fake accidents at work Simulant ring swindles 700,000 francs in daily allowances
A Portuguese construction worker and 14 accomplices defrauded accident insurers of 700,000 francs. The members of the ring faked accidents at work. They will soon stand trial in the canton of St. Gallen.
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- A Portuguese construction worker repeatedly faked accidents at work and collected daily allowances over the course of a year - sometimes simultaneously from Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
- He set up a fraud network with 14 accomplices, created false identities for them and infiltrated them into temporary jobs where they appeared to injure themselves on their first day of work.
- The group made around 700,000 francs in daily allowances; the main perpetrator is in custody and incriminates the co-defendants, who will be charged in June 2025.
What began as an accident at work ended in extensive social security fraud: a 45-year-old Portuguese man, who had been an unskilled worker on German construction sites for years, tricked the Swiss social security system and, together with 14 accomplices, collected around 700,000 francs in daily allowances. The Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reports on the case, which will soon be heard in court.
The case originated in March 2021, when the unskilled worker, who had just moved to Zurich, started a job in construction. But after just two months, he reports an injury - and discovers a lucrative detail: Swiss accident insurance pays up to 80% of his salary as a daily allowance if he is unable to work. According to the investigators, he was healthy again after three months at the latest, but Silva remained on sick leave - for over a year in total.
During this time, he started working for a temporary company in Liechtenstein. He promptly injured himself there too - only allegedly, of course. For months, he received daily allowances from both countries simultaneously, totaling up to CHF 11,000 per month.
The malingerer recruits more malingerers
The large sums of money fueled his criminal energy. The man specifically recruited fellow countrymen and other people in precarious situations: homeless people, addicts, welfare recipients - twelve Portuguese, one Irishman and one German followed his lure.
The head of the fraud network created complete identities for them with fictitious CVs, email addresses and bank accounts - to which only he had access. He then placed them with temporary companies, mainly in the Zurich, Winterthur and St. Gallen area. In 27 cases, they were hired. And each time, they injured themselves on the first day of work on the construction site.
Particularly explosive: Silva knew exactly which doctors would write off sick. "He had clear favorites," explain investigators. If they refused, he immediately went to another practice. Then the game started all over again - with the next accomplice and the next company.
The accomplices received between 900 and 2000 francs per month for simulating. However, there were also people who took part but were not paid. Because of their complicity, they also have to stand trial.
In total, the accident insurers transfer daily allowances worth 700,000 francs.
Temporary companies hardly arouse suspicion
The temporary workers placed by the busy construction worker all dropped out after a very short time. Although individual employees of the temporary companies involved noticed this, they did not seem to need to get to the bottom of the matter.
It was not until spring 2024 that a tip-off put the police on the trail of the network of simulators. The head of the ring lived in the canton of St. Gallen. The cantonal police have a special unit for social security fraud.
Criminal proceedings could also follow in Germany and Liechtenstein, as six of the malingerers also received social welfare benefits in Germany. In total, they only traveled to Switzerland for the medical appointments - without ever having a residence in Switzerland or the Principality.
Charges not yet filed, main perpetrator already in custody
Silva has confessed and is currently serving an early sentence. He is heavily incriminating his accomplices. "He delivered all his accomplices to the knife," says an investigator. Eleven of them were extradited from Germany. They have also confessed.
Charges will be brought against all 15 defendants at the end of June. Silva is facing several years in prison, the others conditional sentences of between nine and 16 months. And: they will all be deported from Switzerland for six to ten years.
"This is probably just the tip of the iceberg," says one investigator - and warns of more black sheep in the system.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.