Scam with corona help? – Case Ho: Now a waiter speaks

The labor market office in Vienna had reported the Vietnam-born friend of ex-ÖVP boss and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who had become prominent in Austria. According to “Dossier” magazine, documents show that the suspicion of fraud has increased after the initial investigations. “We strongly reject the allegations of fraudulent activity,” Alexander Khaelss-Khaelssberg told the magazine. His agency handles public relations for Ho and his Dots group of companies (clubs, restaurants, hotels and art). In addition to Ho, a co-director of the Dots group is now listed as a suspect, according to the report.

While the AMS has doubts about the amounts and installments being charged, the police are investigating a new suspicion. When applying for subsidies for short-time work, signatures of employees may have been forged, writes “Dossier”.

“Had to work in quarantine period”
Accordingly, the police deal with strange signatures. For example, on the basis of a duty of truth, in an application for short-time working for the period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, an employee indicated that a signature on it did not belong to him. He does not know who forged them, but: “In the said period I was at home for a week and then in quarantine for two weeks,” said the employee, referring to the interrogation protocol. “When I came back from quarantine, around March 23, 2020, I was asked to work full-time.” And further: “I even had to work in the quarantine period, the order came from my operations manager.”

The employee complained that “the state would financially compensate the company for the quarantine” and that the initiation demand was therefore inadmissible.

Multiple layoffs in the first lockdown
“I had to work ten hours a day, five days a week,” the employee testified. “I was not paid for the overtime worked, and I only had short-term work at the time.” According to the employment contract, he was employed as a waiter in the Martin Ho’s Dots group. “I watered the plants, painted and sanded the tables, there were various renovation and maintenance work,” the employee says about his “full-time” job without guests. And he was not alone in that. “We were always three to four workers.” During the first lockdown, there were also several layoffs, the witness recalls.

dismissal during criminal proceedings
Shortly after the start of the investigation, an important business partner said goodbye to Ho: on May 10, 2022, Wilhelm Vulllriede resigned from the board of directors of seven companies in the Dots Group. He is only a member of the management team at the holding company Dots Beteiligungen GmbH, in which he owns 20 percent of the shares. “Mr. Vulllriede has left the operating companies”, Nikolaus Rast, Martin Ho’s lawyer, confirms to the “Dossier”. Rast declined to answer whether Vullriede’s dismissal had anything to do with the ongoing criminal proceedings.

“I can’t say anything about the proceedings at this time,” said Ho’s lawyer Rast. “I will have access to the files in September.” To date, his client has “not been questioned”. StA Vienna spokeswoman Judith Ziska also maintained a practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations, but confirmed: “Martin Ho and Wilhelm Vullriede are listed as suspects by the Vienna Public Prosecution Service.”

Justice punishes fraud very severely
According to the Federal Working Time Reduction Directive (KUA-Covid-19) issued by the AMS, good and complete documentation is an essential condition for receiving funding. Employers must have employee signatures. “As evidence of the number of billable lost hours, the company is required to maintain working time records (start, end of work, interruptions) for all employees affected by short-time work and submit them to the AMS upon request,” the KUA says. -Covid-19 And: “In case of incorrect information about the particularly strong impact of the Corona crisis, the entire KUA aid should be withdrawn and reclaimed.”