The public prosecutor’s office announced last Friday that a person working in the home care sector had been placed in pre-trial custody on 22 February 2023 and that a “major investigation” was still underway. Was this the first sign of a massive fraud scandal?
The investigation was launched following several reports by the anti-fraud service of the National Health Fund (CNS). The newspaper Le Quotidien later revealed that the person arrested was the manager of Heem.lu, a relatively new home assistance and care network founded in 2019 and based in Esch-Belval.
-> Billing irregularities: Home care worker in custody on suspicion of fraud
The manager is now under investigation for forgery, fraud, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, misuse of corporate assets, and money laundering, among other things. He is accused of billing for more than what his staff actually did in the homes of clients.
Nobody denies that there is a discrepancy between what was done and what was invoiced to the CNS, Benoît Entringer, the lawyer of the manager of Heem.lu, told RTL: “The CNS is correct in saying that certain things were invoiced that were not provided,” he admits.
On the other hand, the lawyer thinks that the damage estimated at more than €2.5 million as a result of various irregularities in the billing of the home care provider, is “not realistic.” This amount is based on an assessment by the CNS, which now needs to be carefully examined.
Entringer explained that “the network has been completely reorganised and lately everything seems to be working perfectly.” Nonetheless, the lawyer does allude to Heem.lu’s predicament, adding that “these are people whose business has grown way too fast and who have not given themselves the organisation they needed and the means of internal control to ensure that this does not happen.”
For this reason, Entringer believes that these business owners are not criminals, but “people who did not have their company well under control.”
As the company’s funds have been seized, the staff cannot be paid for the time being. According to the lawyer, the priority now is to find ways to keep the company afloat.
“Of course, this only works if my client resigns as manager, allowing them to start again with a clean slate. And only if new people come in,” Etringer noted.
Heem.lu therefore needs a new manager to assure service continuity. According to Etringer, it is critical to extensively review with the CNS what mistakes have been made and how they might be rectified. At the same time, it must be discussed how to repay the excess payment.
The public prosecutor reminds the public that as long as the guilt of the person under investigation is not proven, the presumption of innocence prevails.
