Police in central Greece 0n Tuesday announced several arrests in relation to a reputed criminal network accused of systematically defrauding the state and citizens through welfare benefit scams and fraudulent subsidy claims between 2023 and 2025, following a months-long investigation by the police department in the Thessaly province town of Tyrnavos.
Authorities said 40 people are implicated in the case, reminiscent of a highly publicized welfare fraud case in the US state of Minnesota, and face charges including participation in a criminal organization, repeated fraud and money laundering.
According to investigators, members of the group targeted welfare benefits belonging to unsuspecting citizens while also falsely registering minors at creative activity centers in order to secure state subsidies.
Police said the suspects obtained citizens’ tax identification numbers and credentials to enter the tax bureau’s platform, using forged authorization documents to submit hundreds of requests to reset access codes for victims’ online tax accounts. Once access was secured, they allegedly redirected welfare payments into bank accounts controlled by members of the group.
Investigators said the network submitted 592 fraudulent requests to alter access credentials and that 61 fraud cases involving an equal number of victims have so far been solved.
The investigation also found that suspects falsely enrolled 163 minors in four separate facilities without their parents’ knowledge in order to illegally obtain state funding.
Police estimate the total financial damage to citizens and the Greek state exceeds 199,000 euros. During a search at the home of one suspect, officers seized handwritten notes containing personal data and passwords, bank cards, student registration lists and cash.
The case file has been forwarded to prosecutors in the city of Larissa.
