Fictitious Tuberculosis for $11,500: A Large-Scale Medical Corruption Scheme Exposed in Zakarpattia
Kyiv • UNN
A scheme has been uncovered in Zakarpattia where doctors were diagnosing fictitious tuberculosis to help individuals evade mobilization or obtain disability status. Six individuals, including medical professionals, were involved in substituting biological samples, charging up to $4,000 per service.
In Zakarpattia, law enforcement officers exposed a criminal scheme in the healthcare sector, through which patients were illegally diagnosed with tuberculosis by substituting biological samples. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.
Details
According to the investigation, six people were involved in the scheme. Among them were two phthisiatricians from the regional hospital, the head of the polyclinic, a phthisiatrician and a laboratory assistant from the district hospital, as well as a patient who provided his own samples for substitution.
Medical workers used sputum from a real tuberculosis patient to artificially create positive test results for other individuals. Thanks to this, "clients" could pass military medical commissions, receive deferrals from mobilization, or obtain disability status.
The investigation has documented at least five such cases. The cost of illegal "services" reached up to 4 thousand dollars per person. The total amount of bribes received, according to preliminary data, could exceed 11.5 thousand dollars.
Law enforcement officers consider the doctor of the district polyclinic to be the organizer of the scheme. The group members sought out clients, provided false medical conclusions, and facilitated the processing of necessary documents.
The suspects are accused of receiving undue benefits for influencing the decisions of officials. The issue of preventive measures and the removal of the defendants from their positions is currently being decided.
Recall
A lieutenant colonel of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and his cousin from Russia smuggled more than 70 conscripts to the EU for 17-20 thousand dollars. They produced forged documents from the International Organization for Migration.