Investigators allege a couple ran a welfare scam by repeatedly marrying and divorcing each other twelve times. This took advantage of a pension loophole that allowed them to fraudulently claim compensation after each marriage. Despite the seemingly tumultuous legal history, witnesses including relatives and neighbors claim that the couple never actually separated, continuing to live together during this period in a happy and seemingly “model” marriage. Maintained. newsweek Informed.
A bizarre case of pension fraud, where an Austrian woman allegedly collected multiple widow’s pensions despite being married, has attracted international attention. This story was initially reported by the German newspaper imageDetails how a 73-year-old woman received more than $342,000 in improper widow’s pension payments over the years. After this, her first husband died in 1981.
However, he remarried in 1982. This would normally have ended her widow pension. Yet, instead of losing benefits, he received a “severance payment” of $28,405 as compensation.
An Austrian court ruled in April that these payments were improper, prompting a formal fraud investigation that began last week. The case, which unfolded in Graz, Austria, has raised important legal and ethical questions.
A couple who have been married and divorced 12 times in the last 43 years is under investigation for fraud, according to Austrian media reports. The unusual case involves a woman who repeatedly reclaimed her widow’s pension after a divorce from her husband, a lorry driver whose job often kept him away from home.
Their first divorce occurred in 1988, after almost six years of marriage, with both citing stress caused by her husband’s frequent absences. After the divorce, the woman’s widow pension was restored. However, when the couple remarried, she again lost access to the pension, but received £27,000 in compensation.
This series of marriages, divorces and financial claims continued for decades. Each of her marriages lasted on average about three years, and in total, the woman became a bride in 13 marriages, in 12 of which the same man was her groom.
He initiated legal proceedings himself when the couple sued the pension fund following his wife’s recent divorce in May 2022. The pension authorities had refused to restore her widow pension, citing the suspicious pattern of her marital history.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court of Austria in Vienna dismissed their case, ruling that “Repeated marriage to the same spouse and subsequent divorce is voidable if the marriage was never actually broken, and The divorce was only to claim widow’s pension.” Eyewitnesses told police that the couple’s relationship continued for years.
Following the court decision, the Styrian State Police Directorate officially launched an investigation into the fraud last Tuesday, with a prosecution expected to follow. While the couple claims they have divorced for the 12th time, authorities have refused to recognize the separation, meaning the couple is still considered legally married.
