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A mystery boy showed up in Berlin in September of 2011 claiming to be a 17-year-old boy named Ray. He said he’d been living in the woods for five years and couldn’t remember who he was. His father had died in August, and, after burying him, the boy made the five day walk from the burial site to Berlin.
Police had a hard time believing the story and never found a body, which could’ve been because the boy forgot where he buried it. He was assigned a legal guardian to care for him during this time and was placed in an assisted living facility. He also received over €200 ($270) per month in spending money, a tab that totaled over €30000 ($40000) in nine months.
During this time, the police reached out internationally for clues surrounding the case and eventually received help from a man from Hengelo, Netherlands who recognized his friend, (now) 21-year-old Robin van Helsum.
The BBC reports that Van Helsum faced charges of defrauding the German social welfare system for lying to authorities about being a minor. But on Thursday, Berlin’s juvenile district court said that they wouldn’t make him pay back the money if he performed 160 hours of community service and sought counseling, adding that if van Helsum violates the settlement he could face new charges.