Anna Kanigowska, the “caretaker” of Jerzy Ż. and a source for Onet.pl, has multiple criminal convictions—not just one. They include fraud and the use of forged documents. What’s more, the convictions have not been expunged—as confirmed to us by the court in Gdańsk. Legally, she remains a convicted individual. As a result of her crimes, we have confirmed she served a prison sentence. This report is the result of an investigative collaboration between Niezalezna.pland Telewizja Republika.
Kanigowska rose to “fame” after an interview with Onet, in which she discussed the care of elderly Jerzy Ż.—a topic which became part of a broader political offensive against Karol Nawrocki.
Just a week ago, in a joint article with Monika Rutke of TV Republika, we revealed that Onet’s source had previously been convicted of fraud and document forgery. That information was confirmed by the District Court in Gdańsk, which initially stated that the conviction had been expunged.
“According to information sent to me by the Gdańsk-South District Court, the Court issued a verdict in case file II K 794/15 against Anna Kanigowska. The case concerned crimes of fraud and document forgery (Articles 286 §1 and 270 §1 of the Penal Code). The court imposed a one-year prison sentence, conditionally suspended for a three-year probation period. I have no information that the sentence was ever executed. The conviction was expunged, and under Article 106 of the Penal Code, is considered null and void,”
said Mariusz Kazimierczak, spokesperson for the Gdańsk District Court at the time.
More Convictions: Fraud and Forgery
Since then, however, we have confirmed that Kanigowska was convicted in additional cases. We requested a broader records search from the court—and obtained case numbers for further proceedings that also resulted in convictions for the “caretaker.”
We have uncovered new facts. Importantly, the court has now corrected its earlier statement.
“The individual mentioned in the inquiry is a convicted person. The previous information about the expungement was inaccurate and resulted from a data entry error in the computer system,”
the District Court’s spokesperson told us.
At the same time, the court confirmed another conviction of Kanigowska—again for fraud and the use of forged documents.
“The verdict in case II K 728/17 of the Gdańsk-South District Court pertained to crimes of fraud and using forged documents. Anna K. was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, conditionally suspended for five years, along with a fine and an obligation to compensate for the damage caused by the crime,”
the spokesperson said.
And this may not be the end. There could be more verdicts. We have also confirmed that Anna Kanigowska served prison time for her crimes.
A Convicted Criminal Working for Gdańsk
The question now arises: how did a person with a criminal record come to work for a care home in Gdańsk?
We reached out to the Polish Committee for Social Aid (PKPS), for whom Kanigowska worked and who performed services on behalf of the city’s social services department, asking why they hired someone with a criminal background to provide care.
“Lawyers are handling the matter. We cannot provide any information. Please send an email,” we were told several weeks ago. We did. Later, PKPS cited GDPR regulations. Then, last week, news broke that they had dismissed Kanigowska. She herself claimed it was because of the interview she gave to Onet…
We also asked Gdańsk authorities whether the city or its agencies (including MOPS – the municipal social assistance center) were aware that Anna Kanigowska had a criminal record, when they learned this, and how they responded.
“Tenders for public tasks outsourced to NGOs are organized under the Act of April 24, 2003, on Public Benefit and Volunteer Work (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1491, as amended). This Act does not require a certificate of no criminal record,”
city spokesperson Daniel Stenzel told Niezalezna.pl.
Confessions to Onet
According to her own statements, Kanigowska served as Jerzy Ż.’s caretaker from spring 2022 to spring 2023. She spoke to Onet about the senior citizen and the apartment allegedly under the care of current president-elect Karol Nawrocki. In the interview, she described what she claimed were dire living conditions experienced by the previous owner of the flat.
She also claimed to have been the first to obtain documents now used by the media to accuse Nawrocki. Allegedly, it was after her “intervention” that Jerzy Ż. ended up in a nursing home—despite not wanting to go.
“One day I was organizing Mr. Jerzy’s paperwork and accidentally found a handwritten statement by Karol Nawrocki and his wife, in which Mr. Jerzy gives them the apartment in exchange for care and assistance,”
she said.
For weeks, the media repeated the caretaker’s narrative—without bothering to verify Kanigowska’s credibility.