Fraud as a psychologist: Procedure at the Westerstede District Court!

A 60-year-old man is currently facing an indictment for fraud and violations of the naturopath law before the Westerstede District Court. The accused appeared as a "psychologist" and wrote an expert opinion, although he did not have a corresponding training, such as "https://www.nwzonline.de/ammerland/verfahren-vor-demtsgericht-westerstede-und-verstoss- towards-heilpraktikergesetz_4,501169641.html" target = "_ blank" rel = "noopener noreferrer"> nwzonline.de reported. During the procedure, his defendant excused the defendant, who was instructed to the hospital for severe back pain. An attempt by the judge to reach the accused in the hospital was unsuccessful.

The medical certificate presented was considered inadequate because the family doctor did not attest any inability to negotiate. The accused had also submitted certificates beforehand and had not appeared for negotiations. He was able to go to his family doctor and the hospital, which indicates that he could have appeared to the court. In order to ensure the appearance of the defendant at the next date on May 5, a meeting was issued. The negotiation takes place in Westerstede because the accused is living there.

Investigations and violations

The accused is said to have offered support for foreign people for several years, but without the necessary approval or training. He appeared as a "psychological consultant" and used misleading job titles. The initial abnormalities were noticed in spring 2019 when the accused tried to prevent deportation and was convicted of attempted coercion and false suspicion.

Currently, investigations run in a total of 66 other cases against the accused, which include possible violations of the alternative practitioner law and the misuse of titles in accordance with Section 132a of the Criminal Code. He is also accused of commercial fraud. The presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction.

The legal framework for the abuse of titles, job titles and badges are regulated in Germany in § 132a StGB. This law stipulates that unauthorized persons are punishable to protect the official or service names as well as certain professional titles in order to protect the general public from persons who could generate a special advance of trust through illegal use of these names. The punishments can include prison terms of up to one year or fines, as wikipedia.de .