Million-dollar fraud in Neumünster: Five years in prison for building contractors!

Million-dollar fraud in Neumünster: Five years in prison for building contractors!

A building contractor from Neumünster has attracted attention with a shocking case of tax and social security fraud. The 49-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison at the Kiel regional court because he had evaded a total of seven million euros in taxes over the last four years. These are amounts that affect both the tax office and the social security and construction social funds. A clear violation of German laws that now has drastic consequences.

The defendant had employed employees illegally over a period of several years and had provided incomplete invoices. Despite his criminal record and the fact that he was not allowed to act as managing director of his companies, he pretends to be the head of the company. In April 2025 there were extensive raids by the main customs office in Kiel, in which over 450 customs officers were deployed. They moved through Neumünster and searched numerous residential and business premises of the defendant.

Raids and asset forfeiture

The searches had an effect: seizures of assets amounting to around 5.6 million euros were carried out, which indicates the massive amount of taxes evaded. The building contractor was convicted of a total of 72 offenses related to undeclared work, including withholding and embezzling wages and tax evasion. In another part of the trial, the building contractor admitted that he employed Ukrainians illegally and issued false invoices to keep his company financially afloat.

Despite the prosecution's demand for a sentence of five years and three months, the court saw scope for sentencing. The defense had requested a prison sentence of four years and ten months. Ultimately, the minimum of five years was agreed upon after the defendant apologized during the trial and made clear statements about his crimes.

Bigger problems in view

The case in Neumünster is not an isolated case. According to a customs report, the problem of undeclared work and tax evasion is becoming increasingly pressing throughout Germany. As early as March 2024, there were massive raids against several companies in the fire and water damage restoration industry in Dortmund. Here, social security contributions were not paid for years, which led to damages running into millions. Officials found numerous pieces of evidence, including illegal weapons and substances, showing that the link between illegal work and other criminal activities can no longer be ignored.

A broad alliance of customs, police and tax investigators is needed to tackle this problem. Neumünster shows once again how important it is to combat undeclared work and tax evasion. A good job could be to act preventively in the future and communicate clear information about legal principles to companies and those responsible for them in order to avoid similar cases in the future.