Disgraced German fake news journalist may face embezzlement charges
German news magazine Der Spiegel revealed Sunday that a disgraced journalist it fired for inventing and embellishing stories over a period of several years may face embezzlement charges.
The Hamburg-headquartered magazine, which has been attempting to head off criticism by being transparent about its investigation, said it is filing a criminal complaint against Claas Relotius for allegedly soliciting donations for Syrian orphans in order to enrich himself.
The magazine said in a story published on its website that an investigation into how many people responded to the solicitation and what happened to the money is still under way.
The alleged embezzlement was part of a story the 33-year-old journalist wrote about two Syrian children, Ahmed und Alin, who fled to Turkey and were forced to work as a waste picker and a seamstress.
The magazine says parts of it were invented.
The revelations about Relotius have rocked Germany and made headlines internationally.
On Friday, the US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, said the revelations were of “great concern” to the United States due to the magazine’s alleged anti-American bias.
The journalist also worked for dpa as a freelancer, submitting three long reports from Israel in 2010. These are currently being investigated by dpa.
Source: dpa