Pensioners in Brăila found themselves with blocked accounts and garnishments on their pensions, after investigators discovered that in the records of the Reciprocal Aid House for Pensioners, “Ana Aslan” appeared as beneficiaries of fictitious loans. The calculated damage amounts to almost 1.5 million lei, money coming from members’ contributions.
In the period 2004–2011, two sisters (former chief accountant and bookkeeper) allegedly set up a complex embezzlement mechanism, falsifying 258 loan contracts. Some of them were concluded in the name of pensioners who did not even apply for the loans.
The first alarm signals appeared in 2007, when two female employees reported to management that one of the accountants was evading approved loan applications, changing payment dates and collecting money directly from the cash register, according to capital.
Pensioners appeared in documents as owners or guarantors without ever having signed a contract and later found themselves with pension garnishments for non-existent amounts.
Investigators determined that the fraud involved forging signatures, using the data of people who were not CARP members, artificially inflating amounts and violating internal procedures for direct collection of money.
The scheme operated for years, undermining pensioners’ confidence in an institution designed to provide them with quick and safe financial support.
The case was sent to court in 2021, and the Brăila Court confirmed the legality of the indictment issued by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Brăila Court.
The file was later appealed to the Brăila Court of Appeal, which on February 27, 2026 decided to close the case through the prescription of criminal liability, almost 15 years after the end of the criminal period.
The damage of almost 1.5 million lei directly affected the funds collected from members’ contributions.
