Care home trial in Braunschweig: residents sedated and locked in
Four defendants stand before the Braunschweig Regional Court – including an operator couple accused of running a "regime of control" in a care home in the Harz region.
Care home in Wolfshagen: operator couple charged with abuse and fraud
A trial has begun at the Braunschweig Regional Court in which four former managers of a care home in Wolfshagen, part of Langelsheim in Goslar district, are in the dock. According to ndr.de, the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office accuses the operator couple, aged 60 and 63, and the 51-year-old former home director of mistreating those under their care, dangerous assault, unlawful deprivation of liberty in a particularly serious case, and commercial gang fraud. The indictment covers a total of 17 cases. A 59-year-old former care services manager is accused of being complicit.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the criminal acts span from October 2017 to September 2020. During these years, the operators are said to have established a "comprehensive regime of control" in the home. According to investigators, they controlled operations down to the smallest detail. Residents described as "particularly mobile" are said to have been sedated with medication for years and locked in their rooms – in some cases, the bed rails were simply raised.
Chief public prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters stated that neither the residents nor their relatives nor the treating doctors were aware of the medications being administered inappropriately. The health risks to the care-dependent residents were a matter of indifference to the operator couple, Wolters said.
Beyond physical sedation, the case also concerns alleged billing fraud against care insurance funds. The home director is said to have made false statements to medical assessors about the health condition of residents in order to secure a higher care level for them – and thus higher insurance payments. In individual cases, she is said to have incapacitated residents with consciousness-altering medications before such assessments.
According to Goslar district, complaints about conditions in the home date back to 2005. At that time, residents are said to have been prevented from leaving the home or from moving out of their own volition. The operators were subsequently prohibited from managing the home, though the criminal complaint filed at that time was withdrawn. Only after fresh investigations began in 2020 did charges follow.
The defence attorneys for the four defendants made no comment on the allegations beforehand. The presumption of innocence applies.
The Braunschweig Regional Court has scheduled more than 50 hearing days and intends to hear dozens of witnesses. A verdict is not expected until next year.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)