Overview

• Organized networks from Southern and Eastern Europe have exploited EU migrants in cities like Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Berlin to claim Bürgergeld through falsified documents and minimal work assignments.
• Jobcenters recorded a 63% rise in benefit reductions for non-compliance last year yet say they lack the staff and funding needed to investigate complex fraud schemes.
• Fraud rings often place migrant families in overpriced rentals and funnel both welfare and child benefit payments back to clan leaders.
• Social courts frequently resist full benefit cuts even after repeated no-shows at Jobcenter appointments, hindering fraud enforcement.
• The government’s Grundsicherung für Arbeitssuchende proposal would introduce automatic data matching across agencies and require electronic wage payments to strengthen oversight.