A Zarasai farmer convicted of fraud has his sentence reduced

The Panevėžys Regional Court upheld the sentence of a Zarasai farmer convicted of credit fraud and document forgery, but amended the part of the verdict concerning the €15,000 civil claim.

The Panevėžys Regional Court announced on Monday that the case established that the farmer had submitted forged documents to the National Paying Agency (NPA) in order to receive a €15,000 subsidy for a tractor. He had purchased a tractor for €23,800 and was obliged by the rules of the support to pay for the investment in full with his own funds within nine months.

Because he was unable to pay the full amount by the deadline, the farmer submitted forged documents to the NMA which artificially reduced the price of the tractor to €19,000. This created the illusion that the purchase had already been paid for in full, and the farmer was unlawfully entitled to a subsidy of €15 000.

Specialists from the Lithuanian Forensic Expertise Centre confirmed that the documents submitted to the NMA were fabricated by means of an assembly line. The first sheet of another contract was taken and merged with the original contract sheets. In addition, the signature of the chief accountant on the VAT invoice was also found to have been forged.

The Trial Chamber rejected the defence version that the documents were allegedly corrected by the seller of the tractor due to a defect in the delivery of the tractor, as this version was unequivocally refuted by the company's employees and the accounting records.

In his appeal, the defender of the convicted person emphasised the infringement of the principle of the prohibition of double jeopardy. The defence counsel pointed out that the NMA had already taken an administrative decision to recover the full amount of the EUR 15 000 grant, and that the identical civil action awarded by the Court of First Instance had therefore created an unnecessary financial burden for the convicted person.

Although the District Court confirmed that the conviction and the fine imposed on the convicted person constituted a fair punishment for the offence, the Court agreed with the defence counsel's arguments regarding the risk of double jeopardy for his client.

The Chamber of Judges decided to annul the part of the verdict concerning the compensation of EUR 15,000 in damages, as the farmer is already obliged to reimburse this amount to the NMA administratively. As the repayment of the aid fully covers the loss suffered by the State, the court upheld the civil action in order to avoid the same amount being recovered from the convicted person twice.

The order of the Panevėžys Regional Court shall enter into force on the day of its publication.