The Luxembourg City district court examined several cases on Monday in which children of cross-border workers submitted forged certificates as part of their applications for student grants.
According to the representative of the public prosecutor’s office, these types of cases have been on the rise in recent years. Children of cross-border workers employed in Luxembourg may apply for grants through Cedies, but are required to submit certificates confirming whether and how much financial support they receive in their home country.
Without these documents, applicants cannot receive Luxembourgish grants, as these are intended to supplement existing support from abroad.
One case involved the executive secretary of a Luxembourg construction firm, who appeared in court dressed in fur and carrying a Louis Vuitton bag.
She explained that she had struggled to obtain the necessary certificates from the French Caisse d’allocations familiales for her two sons. Frustrated by the delays, she decided to alter the dates on the documents.
The judge remarked to the defendant that her sons were quite shocked when they found out, whereupon the defendant replied that she was not a good role model, but maintained that she was entitled to the support.
The prosecutor stressed that forging and using falsified documents is a criminal offence in Luxembourg. She pointed out that Cedies is generally lenient with deadlines for submitting supporting documents. Since the mother had no criminal record, the prosecution requested a six-month suspended prison sentence and an appropriate fine.
Another case concerned a student living across the border who hoped to complete an internship in Australia, intending to use his grant to pay for the flight. When the required certificate failed to arrive in time, he altered the document but was ultimately unsuccessful in securing the grant and could not travel.
To avoid jeopardising the young man’s professional future, the prosecutor only requested a fine. The same approach was taken in the case of a young woman who, with only one day left before the deadline, altered her certificate but later abandoned her studies for unrelated reasons and is currently unemployed, receiving €465 per month in benefits.
Asked by the judge whether that amount sufficed to live on, the woman replied that she still lives with her parents.
In a further case, both a mother and daughter were charged, but the student did not attend the hearing, reportedly because she had not received the summons. The judge warned the mother to tell her daughter that next time she will be brought in handcuffs.
The court also dealt with cases of welfare fraud unrelated to student grants.
One man, who has been in a wheelchair since a stroke in 2010 and receives Social Inclusion Income (Revis), travelled to Guinea for several months with his wife in 2023 without notifying the Solidarity Fund. The prosecution argued that his main residence was therefore not in Luxembourg, a requirement for receiving Revis.
The couple is repaying €13,000 in monthly instalments of €80. The prosecutor requested a fifteen-month suspended sentence and a fine, remarking that Revis is not meant to finance holidays.
The prosecutor argued that if you have the energy for a lengthy stay abroad, you can also work for a living. Since the man had no prior convictions, she proposed a full suspended sentence if the couple repaid the money.
Another man, receiving a disability allowance from the Solidarity Fund, spent an extended period in Portugal after his mother died and a storm damaged the family home. He did not realise that residency in Luxembourg was a condition for the allowance, even though it was stated on the form.
The interpreter noted that he is unable to read. He still owes around €4,000 out of €7,000 to the Solidarity Fund and expressed a wish to repay the remainder at once, as he does not intend to stay in Luxembourg.
Judgements in these cases are scheduled to be delivered on 30 November.
