When operating two refugee homes, the Frankfurter Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) is said to have billed around 2.3 million euros too much, according to calculations by the public prosecutor's office.

As the AWO chairman Steffen Krollmann confirmed on Thursday, the association has received a corresponding letter from the authority.

Should a court order follow, the money could be confiscated in favor of the city or assets could be seized.

For several years, the AWO had invoiced the social services department for refugee homes for services that had not been provided.

Matthias Trautsch

Coordination of the Rhine-Main report.

  • Follow I follow

The Hessischer Rundfunk reported on the letter first on Thursday.

The public prosecutor could not be reached for comment.

Krollmann said he could not understand the amount of the sum and how it was determined.

No details are given in the letter.

The association called on a lawyer who should obtain further information.

According to current knowledge, it is correct that "people in the area of ​​the AWO" deliberately provided incorrect information when billing the home costs.

Above all, they would have harmed the association itself.

In addition, there are presumably formal errors in the proof of use to the city.

Processing of financial grievances

All of this is currently being clarified in “constructive and very trusting” discussions with the social affairs department.

The AWO does not assume that it will have to repay anything, but if it does, then only a much lower sum than the 2.3 million euros mentioned by the public prosecutor's office.

Such an amount was not mentioned by the city either.

Krollmann also confirmed that the Arbeiterwohlfahrt had released the head of financial accounting from her work.

He did not want to comment on the reasons.

The chairman of the board has been running the AWO since March 2020 and has since been busy dealing with the financial grievances that existed under the previous leadership.

The association is also said to have defrauded the city in the settlement of daycare centers.