Systematic ROT fraud exposed: Consulting companies took advantage of the elderly
Mission review reveals how a consulting company defrauded itself of millions through false ROT deductions linked to elderly people.
Quick Look
- A consulting company has systematically cheated itself of ROT deductions by invoicing for fictitious renovations for elderly people.
- Assignment review shows that the company received over one million kroner from 14 identified cases in 2024 alone.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Swedish Tax Agency's control system has not detected that a consulting company invoiced for fictitious renovations for elderly people. The company has used the ROT deduction through a systematic strategy.
It starts as an individual case. Kent Elmér's now deceased father lived alone in a villa in Karlskrona. On paper, it looks like a consulting company has done extensive renovations on the house - but when Uppdrag Grunskning's reporter visits a viewing of the estate and pretends to be a speculator, it emerges that the house was untouched.
Despite that, the company has received SEK 75,000 in ROT deductions for the made-up jobs. The father, who suffered from dementia at the end of his life, was unable to raise the alarm himself when the papers from the Tax Agency arrived.
- It's scary, if I may say so. It's absolutely insane, says son Kent Elmér.
Systematic cheating
But it will turn out that the scam is part of a well-thought-out strategy. When Uppdrag gränskning contacts all people who, like Kent Elmér's father, have the last name Svensson and were born in 1930 - soon more people get in touch.
Gun Svenson lives in Vänersborg. She and the family became worried when they received a message from the Swedish Tax Agency that a company had renovated the villa.
- It is too easy to hand out other people's money, says son Stefan Svensson.
How extensive the cheating has been cannot be answered, due to the Tax Agency's secrecy.
But Uppdrag gränskning's mapping shows that in 2024 alone, the consulting company paid out just over one million kroner for the 14 Svenssons that the editors were able to come into contact with.
SVT has applied to Västeråsbolaget without success. The representative has emigrated and we have not found anything to indicate that the company has been reported for crime.
“A lot to work with”
The Swedish Tax Agency's machine control system has not reacted to the systematic scam. Nor that the alleged renovations should have been carried out in many places in Sweden, in everything from Söderhamn to Malmö.
Patrik Lillqvist is head of the Swedish Tax Agency's intelligence unit.
Shouldn't the system see such a blatant method as that the customers' name is Svensson and they were born in 1930?
- We have a lot to work on in terms of creating a better system. But you will find many individual cases, you will. This will be very good knowledge to take forward to see how we can develop it further.
Open Questions
- Why has the Swedish Tax Agency's control system not flagged the pattern?
- Where is the representative of the company located?
