Cosenza, multi-million dollar fraud against the National Health Service: three arrested for receiving stolen goods, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.

Cosenza, multi-million dollar fraud against the National Health Service: three arrests for receiving stolen goods, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.

I Carabinieri of the Anti-Adulteration and Health Unit (NAS) and Provincial Command of Cosenza, coordinated by Public Prosecutor's Office at the Castrovillari Court, they performed an important operation which led to the application of coercive precautionary measures of house arrest towards three subjects believed to be involved in a complex system of fraud, forgery and receiving stolen goods against the National Health Service (NHS).

The order, issued by the Preliminary Investigations Judge (GIP), also provides for the preventive seizure of assetsfor a value equivalent to the estimated financial damage, equal to approximately EUR 1.200.000.

The operation represents one of the most significant recent interventions against the healthcare fraud in the province of Cosenza.

Doping drugs and fake prescriptions

The investigative activity, started by Anti-Adulteration and Healthcare Unit of Cosenza, with the support of Provincial Command of the Carabinieriand Judicial Police Section and Castrovillari Financial Police Company Command, has allowed us to reconstruct a complex criminal mechanism based on the illicit use of false medical prescriptions or prescriptions made out to unaware or non-existent patients.

According to what emerged in the phase of preliminary investigations, the group – composed of a parapharmacy owner e two bodybuilders – would have obtained and marketed illegally somatropin-based drugs, a human growth hormone (GH) used in medicine but also as a doping substance in bodybuilding.

Thanks to such conduct, the association would have caused a economic damage exceeding one million euros to the National Health Service, making huge profits through the resale of medicines on the black market.

The investigation, led by Prosecutor's Office of Castrovillari, has developed through wiretaps, shadowing and document analysis which allowed the fraud scheme to be identified.

The evidence gathered led the GIP to issue precautionary measures, deeming that there were serious indications of guilt for the crimes of criminal association, forgery e aggravated scam to the detriment of the NHS.

During the operation, the military also carried out the preventive seizure of assets, current accounts and other economic resources attributable to the suspects, for a total value of 1,2 million euro, equivalent to the unduly obtained profit.