Charity and support fund “Algojimas” and its employees were acquitted of fraud

The district court of the city of Vilnius announced that the defendants did not commit the crimes they were accused of.

The charges relate to the Children’s Rights Protection Service (now the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service) in 2019. signed contract and project to provide case management services.

A. Stančikienė and the foundation are accused of illegally obtaining funds from the Child Rights Protection Service, intended for the implementation of a project financed by the European Union, the services were to be provided to children with mental and/or mental disabilities and their family members.

According to the above-mentioned contract, “Algojim” was to be paid 16.30 euros per hour of service per person, the payment is made when the fund presents the supporting documents for the provided services: case management service logs, interim and final acts of service transfer – acceptance, VAT invoices.

The prosecutor’s office accused A. Stančikienė and the foundation of the fact that people raising children with mental disabilities did not actually receive services, but the documents indicated that the services were provided, and based on that, money was paid to the foundation.

Sabina Marija Paškevičienė, an employee of the fund, was accused of falsifying real documents, producing fake documents, which were used to fraudulently acquire other people’s property for the benefit of others.

At that time, the District Court of the city of Vilnius found that all project participants – not only the children (as stated in the indictment), but also the children’s families – received case management services as defined in the legal acts specified both in the contract and in the judgment.

“Thus, the accusation of knowing that case management services were not provided is unfounded,” reads the verdict announced by judge Mindaugas Ražanskas.

The judge also noticed that the prosecutor, when substantiating the charges, pays special attention to the dates indicated in the journals, stating that the children did not participate in the classes on the indicated dates, but, in the judge’s assessment, the beneficiaries of the case management services were not only the children, but also their parents or guardians, so only the fact that the children did not participate in specific activities does not prove the circumstances stated in the indictment.

In addition, according to the definitions and stages of the case management service established in the contract and in accordance with the legal acts specified in the judgment, this service is not exclusively contact by nature. “Thus, the fact that the child or his family does not participate in one or another stage of the case management service on the dates specified in the logs, that is, in a contact manner, does not allow for a reasonable conclusion that the case management service is not provided,” the court declared.

According to judge M. Ražanskas, the requirement for the project participants to confirm with their signature the existence of a service that provides non-contact hours is, in the opinion of the court, illogical, because when providing a non-contact service, the recipient of the service may not even know about it.

The verdict is not final and may still be appealed.

“But the most painful thing was not because of myself or my colleague, because she, who raised four daughters, who joined the volunteer activities of the foundation and invited Mama Sabina Marija, is the strong Lithuania that she feels, but no longer recognizes who it is, the weak. They are not those with disabilities or other difficulties, but those who are nothing, losing consciousness. It’s sad, but they are increasing rapidly.

I’m sorry for the families who raise children with disabilities, who are constantly being courted, tortured, and humiliated. Because of your children and yourself, the pain, shame, disappointment hurts the most, it will probably only diminish, but it will never disappear. Because I am still in your ranks and will be”.

Brief factual history of the charge

The foundation aimed for the emergence of a new service – case management (real help) for a family when a disabled child is born or the disability manifests itself at a later age of the child, so that this person (we suggested that it be a social pedagogue) help them survive difficulties, do not get lost in the paperwork corridors, support emotionally etc. We were pleased that this service was included in the pilot in the Reorganization process and the funds allocated for its creation. Why it was not left, what and where the money was used, is not my weakness to find out, and I am not an expert in public financial management. Finally, there are institutions for that, which presumably work.

We participated in a public tender, won it and committed to pilot case management services administered by the Children’s Rights and Adoption Service. She terminated the contract and accused us of not performing activities. Such a public story, under which, like an iceberg, the essence lies under the water,” the Algojimas Foundation announces on Facebook.

The online donation portal aukok.lt announces that the charity and support fund “Algojimas” was founded in 2008. It is the only non-governmental organization in Lithuania that helps families and guardians raising children with disabilities, regardless of what they are. Spreading the mission – changing the attitude towards disability, the foundation carries out social and socio-cultural projects, prepares training programs for parents, specialists, business companies, initiates and implements assistance programs for disabled children and their families, etc.