SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 22 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Agents of the National Police have arrested four German citizens, between 52 and 57 years old, and dismantled a criminal organization, made up of men, leaders of the organization, and two female consorts, dedicated to the alleged authorship of the crimes of fraud, threats, false documents, professional intrusion and crime against public health committed in the health field.
The investigation by the National Police begins in 2021 after becoming aware of the possible existence of a criminal organization, made up of German citizens and located in the north of the island, dedicated to committing fraud in the health field.
His way of acting consisted of a member of the organization, benefiting from his status as a doctor, recruiting potential victims in different environments, mostly elderly German residents, with high purchasing power and insured by German companies with significant coverage. in your policies.
Thus, patients were referred to another member of the organization to receive specialized care, such as physiotherapy or psychotherapy, but the supposed professionals who were going to carry out said treatments lacked the necessary authorization in Spain to carry them out.
The agents, as the investigation progressed, learned that the patients were charged with high-cost treatments –in some cases up to 33,000 euros– that, in the best of cases, were only partially fulfilled and sometimes they were administered drugs whose use is not permitted by the health authorities in Spain.
To this was added the threats received by patients when members of the organization suspected that they had contacted the Spanish authorities or simply questioned the effectiveness of medical treatments.
Once the investigators gathered enough evidence, they arrested three people, two women and one man, in the town of Puerto de la Cruz and days later, another man was arrested in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
So far, the investigators have identified 16 injured parties, however the investigation is still open and new actions are not ruled out.
The actions were carried out by national police from the UDEF of the Provincial Police Station of the National Police of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
