Disability claimant says she was advised to apply on advice of acquaintance

A woman testifying in ongoing proceedings about an alleged disability benefits scandal said she applied for benefits on the advice of a man who overheard her talking to friends about how she was struggling to make ends meet.

The man told her about an EU-funded scheme through which she could get financial help, the witness said in court Tuesday.

She said she was handed an envelope and told to take it to the Social Security department, and within a few months, she started receiving social benefits for a severe disability she did not have.

One year into the benefits of around €400 per month, she received a call telling her she had to pay back the money, which she agreed to do. 

Diandra Azzopardi took the stand before Magistrate Lara Lanfranco in the compilation of evidence against former MP and doctor Silvio Grixti, who, together with Roger Agius, Emmanuel Spagnol, Dustin Caruana, and Luke Saliba, denies being involved in a large-scale disability benefit racket.

The family doctor from Żejtun is alleged to have played a central role in the alleged scheme by providing applicants with false medical certificates, which they then presented to a medical board to secure the severe disability allowance.

The other four co-accused are believed to have acted as agents or go-betweens, raking in payments from successful beneficiaries.

'They did not even spend 10 seconds there'

In her testimony, Azzopardi said that, about four years ago, she was with some friends at a Tarxien band club and they were talking about how they could not cope with expenses when a man, who knew one of her friends and joined the conversation, mentioned that there was someone who could help and that there was nothing wrong, as it was funded by the EU.

She passed on her contact number to the man. About a week later, she received a call and gave him her address. About two or three months later, she received an envelope at home. She did not open it and was told to take it to the Social Security Department.  

Azzopardi said did as she was instructed to. At the department, she was asked to fill in her details and sign a document. 

Sometime after, some people turned up at her house, around four or five people who said they were from “a board”.  

“They did not even spend 10 seconds there. They said all was fine. Sometime later, I received a notice informing me that the application was accepted… It mentioned severe disability,” she said, adding that she did not have a disability.

“I left it that way. I did nothing… I started receiving the money.” The first payment was about €1,000. She then received about €400 a month. This went on for about two years.

'I started adding one plus one'

Azzopardi then received a call from an unknown number and was told by a man that, after the first year of receiving the payments, she had to pay him for the year, as she did not have a disability.

She accepted. “I started adding one plus one.” She started paying back the money to the people who called her every month.

The witness said she faced court action for her involvement in the case. The case had been decided, so she could now testify.

Sean Galea followed her to the stand. He too said he had been charged in court over the matter, and the case was over. He said he suffered from health issues. He went to Grixti, who he said referred him to another doctor, telling him he might be entitled to a support scheme.

Galea said he had gone to a pharmacy in Dingli, and a doctor suggested he apply to start getting a cheque. He applied and was called to be reviewed by a board.

“There was a big table with a lot of people in front of me,” he said, adding that he was cleared by the board. Sometime later, he started receiving monthly benefits.

In all, he received about €20,000, which he used to live off.  Some years later, he received a call from a police officer and ended up charged in court and told he had to pay back the money he received.

Lawyers Michael Schriha, Gianella De Marco, Franco Debono, Mario Mifsud, and Matthew Xuereb represented the accused.

Police Inspectors Wayne Borg, Andy Rotin and Shaun Friggieri are prosecuting, assisted by lawyers Abigail Caruana Vella and Charmaine Abdilla from the Office of the Attorney General.