File photo.
Authorities in Thessaly have unravelled a criminal ring suspected of making large sums of money through fake creative activity courses for children and fraudulent social security claims.
Police said Tuesday that 40 people are suspected of involvement in the ring, which grabbed some €200,000 in taxpayer funds from 2023 to 2025. They face charges including belonging to a criminal organization, systematic fraud and money-laundering.
A police statement said much of the fraud involved the fictitious enrolment of 163 children in four centers offering creative activities for children that received state subsidies.
The suspects also allegedly stole usernames and passwords used by members of the public to access online tax services, with which they made fraudulent social security claims, directing the payments to their own bank accounts.
