Fraud in Child Support and Custody Cases: Court-Admissible Investigations by Certified Detectives from Frankfurt

StGB § 170 Violation of Maintenance Obligation

(1) Whoever evades a statutory maintenance obligation, thereby endangering the livelihood of the entitled person or would endanger it without the help of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.

Balanced Victim Statistics: Mothers and Fathers Equally Struggle with Child Support and Custody

The above and other legal provisions theoretically protect many parents and their children from poverty and from ex-partners who, after a pregnancy or a failed relationship, wish to quietly disappear from the life of the child they have fathered or mothered, thus potentially depriving both mother and child of the right to a dignified life. In practice, however, this law often provides little help to affected mothers when they lack the necessary evidence to substantiate their claims, or when a father violates the law by relocating anonymously to evade his obligations.

 

The other side of the coin is equally unpleasant: Even though measures to protect fathers’ rights have been enforced in recent years, mothers still enjoy numerous privileges denied to their male counterparts. What can a father do, for example, who suspects that his former partner and the child’s mother continues to claim child support payments, even though she is in a new marital-like relationship generating sufficient income to support the child and provide all legally mandated comforts? Ultimately, the situation is suboptimal for both parties, especially when it comes to obtaining court-admissible proof of circumstances already clear to oneself.

 

The IHK-certified private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt regularly encounter witnesses to both irresponsible fathers who attempt to completely evade maintenance obligations and audacious fraud attempts by abandoned women who – whether out of revenge, greed, or lack of legal awareness – try to ensure that their ex-partners maintain a comfortable lifestyle for them by continuing to pay separation or post-marital maintenance despite having their own income or remarriage. While the BGB clearly stipulates under §§ 1570–1573 that maintenance payments should at least be reduced when the supported partner is employed, women and men alike sometimes believe they can defraud their former partners. Our private detectives in Frankfurt assist victims – regardless of side or gender – in obtaining court-admissible proof of such child support fraud: +49 69 1201 8431.

Case Example: Refusal to Deliver a Child | Violation of Court-Ordered Custody Agreement

Ralf Messel and Silke Eppstein separated only a few months after the birth of their daughter Jana and were awarded joint custody by the court, with the agreement that the child should live with her mother Silke during the week. Ralf and Silke were both only eighteen when their daughter was born, so Silke left school and Ralf began training as a roofer in order to provide financially for the child. Although disputes between the parents recurred, the shared custody arrangement worked relatively smoothly until Jana started school; Ralf paid his maintenance to Silke, who was unemployed and cared for the daughter and a subsequently born baby of another father, while he visited his daughter regularly and was allowed to take her home on two weekends a month for outings and to participate in her upbringing. A seemingly intact world, which, as the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt repeatedly observe, can quickly turn for the worse.

 

All of this changed abruptly when father Ralf found a new girlfriend who often accompanied him on weekend walks and zoo visits with little Jana. Jana began to report at home with increasing enthusiasm about her father, his new girlfriend Marie Neuberg and their outings — until mother Silke eventually refused to hand little Jana over to Ralf on the agreed weekends. Ralf insisted on his right to see Jana at weekends, but Silke remained unmoved even when the involvement of the police was threatened, always claiming Jana was ill, not feeling well or already visiting a friend. As mother Silke had by then acquired a steady partner and shortly afterwards a husband, whom Ralf later alleged to our detectives in Frankfurt was intended to present a picture of a perfect family, she apparently could not bear the thought that her daughter might spend happier days with her father and his girlfriend than with her own small family.

Separated from the Child? Last Resort: Private Detectives

Apart from his desperation over the refusal to hand over his daughter, Ralf soon suspected he was being taken advantage of by Silke. His parents and friends reported that “little Eppstein” allegedly earned extra money in the local neighbourhood by cutting and colouring hair, supplementing her child maintenance and Hartz IV benefits. As noted, mother Silke had meanwhile married her new partner; he was a trained car mechanic and was likewise notorious for “tuning” the cars of rowdy youths by adventurous means and putting money aside in that way.

 

When the small family later managed to afford an all-inclusive holiday in Italy after Silke had allowed court dates and hearings to lapse for months citing alleged illness for herself or the children, Ralf turned in his desperation to the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt. The investigators were tasked with researching whether Silke and her new husband were earning sufficient undeclared income to support themselves. Ralf naturally wished to continue providing for Jana and even sought sole custody in view of the suspected criminal behaviour of Silke and her husband.

Surveillance on Suspicion of Undeclared Work (Illegal Employment)

After our Frankfurt private detectives observed the suspect family for several days, they brought Ralf astounding news: according to a close friend, not only was Silke earning an estimated “more than €600” a month in undeclared cash from her hairdressing activity and thereby wrongfully pocketing a large portion of her Hartz IV benefits, but her husband had also, in order to continue receiving unemployment benefits, secretly taken a mechanic’s job at a nearby garage. The detectives were able to observe both fraudsters en route to their workplaces and on site and to document the activities photographically, thereby providing Ralf with the basis to file criminal charges against his ex-partner for multiple fraud offences.

 

Father Ralf acted deliberately and did not pursue criminal prosecution of the mother; instead he reached a deal with her: the existing custody arrangement was reversed on the condition that Ralf would not use the evidence gathered by our detectives against Silke. Consequently little Jana lived with her father from then on and saw her mother every other weekend — a circumstance that benefited her somewhat faltering development, because — as was later revealed — mother Silke had spent little time with the child, frequently left her in front of the television and often failed to take her to kindergarten and later to school.

Investigations in Custody and Maintenance Matters by the Private Detectives of Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt

Cases as successful as Ralf Messel’s are rare; however, the chances of a fair trial are dramatically increased when court-admissible evidence is available. The competent team at Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt is ready to assist you in such situations: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-frankfurt.de.

 

Although an initial report to the police can be helpful depending on the circumstances, especially when a parent unlawfully prevents the other parent’s contact with the child, the police and the courts are powerless without hard evidence against the allegedly unlawful parent. It is therefore advisable to obtain free advice from our Frankfurt private detectives about how to proceed in your specific case and which measures should be taken. No parent should be unlawfully disadvantaged in matters of contact with their children or financially; whether it is a mother who fights every day for the maintenance to which she is entitled or a father who, sacrificing his entire labour, supports an ex-wife while she enjoys a comfortable life at his expense.

To preserve discretion and protect the personal rights of clients and targets, all names and places in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.

 

Author: Maya Grünschloss, PhD

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt

c/o AT Büro Center

Mainzer Landstraße 341

60326 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Tel.: +49 69 1201 8431

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-frankfurt.de

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