Danish lawmaker given suspended sentence for EU funds fraud

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A right-wing Danish lawmaker who was considered a rising star within the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party has been found guilty Friday of misusing European Union funds worth $15,667. A court in Lyngby gave Morten Messerschmidt a six-month suspended sentence for making false statements about holding an EU conference in 2015 in order to receive EU funding. The 40-year-old maintained his innocence throughout the trial. Messerschmidt served in the European Parliament at the time and is now deputy leader of the opposition party in Denmark’s parliament. He received more personal votes than any other Danish candidate in the 2014 EU legislative election and campaigned on a promise to combat alleged EU fraud.