Socialcare fraud committed by 'ex-team'

Problem

In August 2019, Robert was made homeless by the protected living organization Woonzorgnet B.V. and the municipality of Arnhem under the name "Wijkteams," where each "Wijkteam" comprises multiple social workers, each dedicated to a case. In Robert's case, this was Andrew Breeveld. Living conditions were spartan in a 30-year-old camper that turned out to have a lot of hidden damages living conditions were spartan.

The first problem is that with ZIN (Zorg in Natura), a roof over your head and social care are combined. So, if you lose your home, you will also lose your social care. Getting a PGB (healthcare budget to hire social care workers) is a long and tedious process. Where the municipality of Arnhem made many mistakes and was unwilling to provide it. Unjust, the head of the justice department of Arnhem ruled in March 2020, but at that time, Robert seemed to be at the end of his rope. 

He called for help at Nationale Hulpgids and attracted multiple social workers that seemed to care about his situation. Upfront, he was clear that he had no budget and that getting PGB-WMO was necessary before he could pay them. The ex-team agreed and went to work.

Due to his homelessness, he was eligible for a super-priority social housing assignment, which became the Veluwestaat 64 in Arnhem. This was a house under the housing covenant, which means that people with handicaps, like Robert, could live there with a normal rent agreement whilst it is mandatory that for the first two years, there was also a social worker, a.k.a. social care agreement, attached to it. 

Milan Ahoud was assigned as the social worker for this housing covenant. He worked with Robert for 3 years for 2 hours per week, first as a volunteer and from March 2020 as a freelancer paid by PGB-WMO. Milan was in particular selected because he helped Robert pack and unpack his belongings when he went through his forcibly homeless situation (caused by Woonzorgnet B.V. and Wijkteam Arnhem, in particular, Andrew Breeveld) and was considered a trustworthy person by Robert’s family. 

Around June 2020, cracks started to appear in the communication between Robert and the ex-team. Words became stronger, and dialogues became notifications. As time progressed, it became increasingly clear to the team that they could not help. (As is mentioned here) Robert, for some reason, did not speak this out. Robert noticed the tensions but thought that they were just a natural given between people with autism and people without autism. 

Around November 2020, Robert received a message from Tahnee with the (now dubbed as) false version of the healthcare plan. In this healthcare plan, information shared by Robert was framed to feed a narrative and justify why he should be made “incapacitated.”  For example, he was not "incapable" of managing his finances, whereas in reality keeping the books in good shape was a very time-consuming chore of multiple hours today. With all the various rules of where the money comes from (First WMO, then WLZ, Healthcare Insurance exceptions, Bijzondere Bijstand, Extra Gezinshulp, and Aftrek specifieke zorgkosten) and so complex, the expertise of a bookkeeper was required to make sure everything would go correctly. The work involved was so incredibly exhausting for Robert that at the end of keeping up with the books, he fell asleep and was not able to do anything else. And the next day, the cycle repeats. This is a stark contrast and highlights the nuances in the allegations the ex-team brought to bear in the false version of the healthcare plan.

What’s more, the section "Incapacitated" is very dangerous. In the Netherlands, if he were declared (by a judge) to be "not capable", it would be the equivalent of him being stripped of his autonomy. Essentially, it is his ability to make decisions about his own life, in the broadest sense of the word. Judges are inclined to believe the social workers' reports since they are the so-called "boots on the ground". The ex-team knew how important autonomy was to Robert, and the PGB underpins this. To write in the healthcare plan that he is "not capable" is the direct opposite of what was intended and should be done.

The ex-team went even further because, as it turns out, the false version of the healthcare plan was submitted to Wijkteams Arnhem and CIZ, the parties responsible for determining who would get PGB and who wouldn’t. They had the authority to take away Robert’s PGB and healthcare plans like the false one would set a very dangerous trend in motion.

Of course, Robert went on a rapid investigation and demanded the exchange of information between him and the ex-team. To no avail, nobody provided him with any correspondence whatsoever. However, what followed was a message in Slack from Milan Ahoud stating that Robert should cooperate with making him “incapacitated” or he would report Robert to Vivare, to whom the convent house belongs.

The problem is that a social worker must be attached to the rent agreement for the first two years in order for a client to receive a rent agreement in the first place. There are, however, no legal protection mechanisms in place to protect a client if a social worker has ill intentions. Currently, social workers can blackmail clients living in covenant houses into submission on the promise that the alternative is eviction. Social housing and committees like Vivare have no incentive nor the legal obligation to protect their clients against such wrongful deeds created by social workers. It’s a perfect but devious loophole. 

Robert, facing the above, took the brave step of reporting it himself to Vivare in the hopes that being the "whistleblower" would give him the benefit of the doubt from Vivare, preventing eviction. Vivare, although not pursuing eviction, was not willing to grant legal immunity to Robert, despite his numerous requests for such, since Robert was officially in breach of the agreement. Milan Ahoud has been fired and is no longer working for Robert. 

Multiple back and forth messages have been exchanged between Robert and Marjolijn Mulderij, who was the coordinator of the ex-team and to whom all team members had to report. She even received an ultimatum from Robert to hand over all communication exchanges between her and the ex-team so Robert could exercise his obligation as the PGB account holder to verify the work that was done, the quality of that work, and if the hours worked had been rightfully spent in accordance with the healthcare agreement set up between Robert and each of the team members of the ex-team. .

Marjolijn Mulderij ignored the ultimatum and went to see a judicial bailiff. Together, they sued Robert for nearly 12.500 euros and mounting. 

As we mentioned before, Robert has been on a journey to make his voice be heard. He reported this healthcare fraud to SVB and forwarded it to Wijkteam Arnhem to initiate an independent investigation, but they are claiming this does not apply to PGB account owners. Frustratingly, nowhere on the SVB website is this mentioned, which we can agree if it was the case, it should be stated. 

Another challenge presented to Robert is the fact that there is no will to put in the work and investigate further. Achmea Rechtsbijstandverzekering has decided its posture on all of this, leading to a de facto conviction in the making. No opportunity is given to Robert to show proof of how he is being taken advantage of.

The situation seems to be already "resolved" and the verdict already decided, given that in no way or form is Robert being granted the opportunity for a deep investigation into the fraud committed by the ex-team. Most of the subjects involved in this case show zero willingness to discuss further, while most of what we have seen is a cutthroat rejection of everything tried so far. 

Another huge problem presented in this dispute is how Achmea Rechtsbijstandverzekering is actively ignoring the evidence being presented. They are forcing the situation to go on a single pathway, only wanting to acknowledge one question, and not allowing all facts to be heard. In addition, they are preventing Robert from having a second opinion or a second lawyer. Essentially, they have built a narrative where Robert cannot ask any other question that doesn’t fit into their story. They interfere not only by manipulating the narrative but also the course of action between Robert and his lawyer, which they previously agreed they would not do in an email.

To add to the bad treatment Achmea Rechtsbijstandverzekering is giving to Robert, they have threatened to report him to the healthcare insurance if he does not improve his "tone". However, Robert’s tone is caused by the stress of not being heard nor acknowledged, triggering his autism and, in particular, his CPTSD, which stipulates that he ‘anticipates violence’. This disables Robert's ability to stay calm and automatically triggers a very heavy counter-response to the incoming (perceived) danger. On top of all this Achmea threatening Robert to report him to the health insurance to take away his health insurance because of his "tone" is like throwing gunpowder on a forest fire and blaming the ensuing explosion on Robert for being a forest fire. It should not be tolerated that a legal institution like Achmea is allowed to threaten citizens under any circumstances. 

Achmea is acutely aware of all of this but simply refuses to cooperate and keeps escalating the situation instead of helping to find a solution to the multiple problems that they have now caused. Going to the complaint commissioner is not helping either, because they are bound to the same policies that caused Robert’s suffering in the first place. 

What is Robert’s take on this?

To clarify, Robert is willing to pay the social workers, but he is facing a significant obstacle in doing so. He requires access to all communication records involving the ex-team, including their interactions with each other and with external parties. Unfortunately, the platforms, such as Slack, have denied him this access. As the owner of the PGB account, Robert has a legal obligation to supervise the social workers he hires and ensure the accuracy of their reported hours. The lack of access to communication records has made it impossible for him to fulfill this duty, leading to a challenging legal situation.

There should be a thorough investigation into the extent of the fraud committed by the ex-team. However, Robert's reports have not received a helpful response thus far. Instead, he is facing active resistance to conducting an investigation from the Social Insurance Bank, Wijkteam Arnhem, and Achmea Rechtsbijstandverzekering. Achmea, in particular, has hindered Robert by refusing to address all the facts he has presented and cherry-picking which aspects to consider. They have even interfered with the process of obtaining a second opinion by limiting the funding for a lawyer to specific questions that do not fully address Robert's concerns or provide a comprehensive assessment of his innocence.

Essentially, Achmea is holding the situation hostage in an attempt to coerce Robert into submission. However, this approach backfires and only reinforces Robert's accusation that Achmea's mindset and policies are biased against him, demonstrating their unwillingness to assist individuals with disabilities or provide them with a fair process. It appears to be a deliberate effort to sabotage Robert's chances of success in the legal battle, using covert tactics that are difficult to prove but cause substantial and lasting harm to the victim.

As a result of these circumstances, Robert is unable to make any payments to the social workers due to the looming threat that he will be accused of being an accomplice to fraud and face retroactive penalties. Although the Municipality of Arnhem has indicated that Robert is permitted to pay the social workers, given the nature of the crimes involved, this method is not considered safe. It requires an independent investigation to ensure Robert's freedom from prosecution both now and in the future. Furthermore, if the court were to sentence Robert for paying fraudsters, he would immediately and indefinitely lose his PGB, depriving him of the necessary support from social workers in his daily life. Losing this support would quickly lead to a deterioration in his quality of life and his ability to function within society.

Conclusion

We can see the failures of individuals, companies, organizations, systems, laws, and society as a whole and how they all cause great suffering to a person with autism who requires help to get by in life. Adding yet another bitter legal dispute pushes him further away from his ultimate goal of living a peaceful and stable life. 

What is most upsetting is that Robert went through the whole process and tried ferociously to speak out to individuals, companies (such as Slack), organizations (such as Achmea Rechtsbijstandverzekering), and laws (such as the lower court). 

Robert only asks for the communication logs the ex-team produced during their time working for Robert. conducted by an independent investigation because that is the only option he has left. Even so, Robert has been denied every single method to bring proof of what he has been dealing with as well as fighting off the accusation that Tigo Wonen sued Robert for.