Investigations against Cottbus Mayor for abuse of title!

Investigations against Cottbus Mayor for abuse of title!

in Cottbus, the city on the Spree, it is currently bubbling. The Cottbus public prosecutor's office has investigated Mayor Tobias Schick (SPD). The occasion? A suspicion of abuse of title. As reports [niederlausitz-aktuell.de] (https://www.niederlausitz-aktuell.de/niederlausitz-aktuell/cottbus/297187/staksanwaldellt- against-cottbuser-Oberbuermeister-schick.html), there is a criminal complaint that targets the use of an inadmissible academic name.

At its core, it is about the possible violation of Section 132a of the Criminal Code, which regulates the abuse of titles. In the past, Schick had used the title "Diplom-Administration Manager", both on his campaign homepage and on the city website. However, this name could have been misleading because his degree at the Administrative and Economic Academy (VWA) was acquired, an educational institution that is not considered a state-recognized university. Schick himself studied from 2016 to 2020 and passed his diploma test with the grade value "very good (1,3)", which is the basis for the title "Administrative Betrieep Manager (VWA)".

The allegation in detail

The suspicion came up by an anonymous advertisement that the public prosecutor's office attracted attention to the career stations. According to [radiocottbus.de] (https://www.radiocottbus.de/lausitz-news/2025/06/27/stananwallung-cottbus-ermittel- against-tobias-schick/), it is in the room that Schick used the title without clarifying that it is an internal administrative degree. He himself granted a phrase error, but emphasizes that he had no intention to deceive.

The topic of title abuse is serious, because in accordance with § 132a StGB it is punishable to lead domestic or foreign academic degrees and titles unauthorized. This is intended to protect the general public from people who, through false names, arouse a special status or trustworthiness, such as [wikipedia] (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSCHUMBON_VON_TITELEN ,_Berufs description_und_aj. For Schick that could mean that the investigation will take some time and there is a possible indictment in the room.

The statement by Tobias Schick

Tobias Schick did not simply accept the situation. In his public explanation, he made it clear that there was a misleading representation on his campaign homepage, which was caused by three missing letters in a bracket. This writing error gave the impression that he had acquired an academic degree that was not condition. However, Schick assures that he has the certificate as an administrative business economist (VWA) and thus completed the corresponding educational path.

Since the identity of the ad'ser is unknown and may remain anonymous, it remains to be seen how the public reaction to the investigation continues. The procedure is now being examined by the public prosecutor, and whether there is an indictment is still in the stars.

At the end of the day it will be exciting to observe how things develop, because such a accusation throws a large shadow on the political career of a mayor. Cottbus looks forward to the results of the investigation and hopes for clarity in this agitated location.