Tartu professor to serve 100 hours of community service for benefit fraud
Professor of pathophysiology at the University of Tartu, Sulev Kõks, will have to serve 100 hours of community service for cheating the university out of €4,400. The South district prosecutor’s office has closed the case.
According to weekly Eesti Ekspress, Kõks submitted a fake invoice to the accounting department of the university for flights to Vietnam. The university paid him compensation in the amount of €4,400.
The fake invoice showed the flights for adult passengers as €1,002 more expensive than they actually were—to compensate for the €1,002 Kõks had to pay out of his own pocket to take along his children.
The Archimedes fund took the submitted papers as it received them, and in turn compensated the university for its payment to Kõks.
With this, Kõks in addition to fraud also committed benefit fraud, as Archimedes’ funds are public money.
South district prosecutor, Marge Püss, said that Kõks would have to serve 100 hours of community work. “Taking into account the actions perpetrated by Kõks as well as his personality, it isn’t sensible to seek punishment for him according to the criminal code,” Püss said.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
