The person behind the investigation

On March 17, 2026, I presented a petition on behalf of the Foundation for the Recovery of Unprecedented Injustice - the Interest Group of Duped Entrepreneurs, Supplements/FSV/SMEs. It is not only the Department of Benefits that has wrongly reclaimed allowances for people. By means of a WOO request, the document removed from the CAF weekly letters with the telling name “The short slap in the face of the system fraudster”. The unjustified fraud suspicions, CAF investigations, risk selections, government collaborations have led to bankruptcies, business closures, loss of income, health problems. The damage for this will not be included in the recovery operation. This goes beyond Taxes and Individuals. Blue- SME department plays the leading role. Signals should not be viewed individually, but the coherence must be seen and uncovered. MPs Tom van der Lee, Inge van Dijk, Pieter Grinwis, Henk Vermeer, Wendy van Eijk, Jan Struijs, Jimmy Dijk, Dogukan Ergin, Lisa Westerveld, Pepijin van Houwelingen, Gidi Markushouwer attended the petition and asked many questions during the subsequent Commission debate. and André Flac,

In a new episode of In het Vizier van De Jager, victims of the benefits scandal say that they are still seen as fraudsters. Despite canceled debts and government commitments, they say a “check mark” remains behind their name - with banks, insurers and commercial data agencies. And that leads to major problems.

Losing their homes, suffering from burnout, and facing bankruptcy: State Secretary Sandra Palmen aims to accelerate the recovery operation for childcare benefit victims by once again embracing the Laurentien method. This is good news for the average victim, but entrepreneurs are still left with significant losses. Paula Bouwer and Marco de Vries, photography by Milo, April 2, 2025 – published in issue 14

In 2023, a nice article appeared in NRC - Rush Hour about Joost Allein Richir and me. Joost worked at the tax authorities as a lawyer for almost 40 years. I am a duped parent and entrepreneur. An impossible combination? We have a lot in common: an Indian history, a previous partner from Curacao, love for traveling and doing fun things! Read the article under the “Read more” button!

The affair revolves around childcare allowance. Thousands of parents have been wrongly described as fraudsters by the tax authorities. They had to pay sky-high fines. Many parents fell deeply into debt. Later, it turned out that there were similar problems with the recovery of housing allowance, health allowance, child-related budget and income tax.

On December 22, 2022, together with four other parents, I organized a demonstration on the doorstep of four offices of the tax authorities. I worked at the Implementation Organization for the Recovery of Allowances in Utrecht. Afterwards, I received an invitation to come to the HLF8 program.

I decided to get stuck in the file. I spoke to parents, collected documents, and began to recognize patterns in how mistakes were structurally made and ignored.

I heard the experiences of parents who were crushed by the same system. Recognition and shared injustice made it impossible to look away.

The benefits affair affected me not only through other people's stories, but also personally. I experienced up close what happens when a system crashes and locks people down.

“I'm going to quit. I can do that, I want to and that's what I do' Paula Bouwer (58). from Queens and Queen's Bakery quits. After eleven years of business, she wants to spend more time with family and friends. Rachel van Kommer January 16, 2018, 08:05 Her businesses, Queens Royal Bakery on Eemplein and Queens Royal Enjoyment at the Groenmarkt, have been on silent sale for six months. Owner Paula Bouwer did not immediately want to “turn the city upside down with the news”. This weekend, she announced via social media that she is quitting doing business.,, After eleven years of hard work, working 80 to 90 hours and being a single mother, I think it's time to enjoy my life more. It's too hard for me and I want a simple life

Compensation of 80,000 euros for urilift Queens Bed & Breakfast on the Groenmarkt has become the winner in the years of battle with the municipality of Amersfoort for compensation for installing a urilift on its terrace. Eric van der Velden December 16, 2015, 11:16 Owner Paula Bouwer will be paid 45,000 euros in compensation plus 35,000 in statutory interest, the Council of State has ordered the municipality. The municipality must also pay the court costs of the appeal: 6,000 euros. Rehabilitation Builders lawyer Sjoerd van den Ende sees the final part of the “urilift soap” as a reparation for his client. ,, For years, she was not taken seriously by the municipality and dismissed it as difficult. It was always said that there was really nothing wrong. Now she has been right on all counts. That feels like a big win.” Van den Ende says he is amazed by the persistence with which the municipality has tried to get it right.

A new beginning and a new perspective. In the Netherlands, I became increasingly involved in social issues and began to see the tension between policy and people's daily reality.

I grew up with values such as belonging, justice and perseverance. The importance of community and caring for each other became visible early on and still forms an important basis in my work.