Former fraud/” title=”Former directors Roda JC convicted of fraud”>Roda JC director Ton Caanen (55) has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service. The judge sees sufficient evidence for forgery and fraud surrounding the purchase of his home in 2015.
Wim Collard (60), who also belonged to the Roda JC management, and former Roda Commissioner Hessel Meijer (63) were also sentenced to community service of 80 and 120 hours respectively.
Also read: ‘Former Roda directors suspected of fraud’
Fictional Finance
At the time of the facts, at the end of 2015, the trio was still working at the football club. The then technical director Caanen wanted to buy a house in Spaubeek and needed a mortgage of 800,000 euros. According to the judge, it has been proven that his colleague Collard, then general manager, helped him by increasing Caanen’s salary on paper.
Meijer, who had been associated with the club for years in various roles at that time, would in turn have transferred 100,000 euros to Caanen. For example, the director’s equity suddenly seemed greater. Caanen was also placed on the payroll of Meijer’s company, artificially increasing his monthly income. It convinced the ABN AMRO bank; Caanen got his mortgage.
Close cooperation
The judge spoke of a ‘close and conscious cooperation’ between the men on Monday. “Collard and Meijer knew what Caanen used the documents for”, he referred to when applying for the mortgage. Caanen abused their trust and the initiative came from his side. He moved the others to commit crimes.”
Also read: Mistaken Caanen: ‘Many calling horns at Roda JC’
Own interests
According to the judge, Caanen has shown little insight into his own actions. “He only served his own interests.” Yet the native Gelener was not given a prison sentence, as the justice system demanded in December. “The handling of this case has taken a long time and the case has been picked up by the media. That has had an impact on Caanen and his family. Moreover, he has not been convicted before.”
The judge did link a probationary period to the sentence of the protagonist: if he commits the wrongdoing again within three years, he must still go to prison for six months. Meijer also received a probationary period and a suspended prison sentence of one month.
Club not involved
Although the men were all connected to Roda JC in the period in question and, for example, Caanen’s pay slip from the club was taunted, other employees or the club itself were not regarded as suspects. “We have not been approached in any way by the relevant authority,” a club spokesperson told De Limburger in 2019.
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