Police Uncover Two Criminal Gangs Engaged in Prescription Fraud, Defrauding EOPYY

The Financial Police Directorate announced on Monday the dismantling of two separate criminal organizations involved in defrauding the National Organization for Provision of Healthcare Services (EOPYY) through the use of fraudulent prescriptions. The busts followed a months-long investigation into the organizations' operations and structure, culminating in 16 arrests last Friday.

According to the police investigation, the groups illegally used 3,516 social security numbers (AMKA) to issue 90,186 fake prescriptions, costing EOPYY over 3.5 million euros.

Among those arrested were four doctors working for public healthcare facilities in Attica and Viotia, the owners and employees of eight pharmacies in Attica, a pharmaceutical sales representative, and an individual accused of acting as a mediator. The groups are believed to have been active since at least January 2020, sharing similar goals, methods, and even some members.

Both organizations systematically issued fake prescriptions using the AMKA numbers of primarily foreign individuals. These individuals were either out of the country, incarcerated, or in various facilities, making it unlikely for them to detect the fraudulent activity. To maximize profits, the groups also targeted uninsured individuals whose medication costs are fully covered by EOPYY.

Collaborating with complicit companies and pharmacies, the groups filed paperwork claiming the prescriptions had been filled, forging patient signatures to claim reimbursement from EOPYY. The illegally prescribed drugs, including narcotics, psychotropic substances, and medications experiencing shortages both domestically and internationally, were then sold through the same pharmacies and by the doctors in Greece and abroad. Profits from these illegal sales were concealed through fake retail receipts or stored in bank safety deposit boxes.

The investigation also revealed the illegal activity of a pharmaceutical warehouse owner selling potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals. One of the pharmacies involved in the prescription scam served as an outlet for these products.

The arrested suspects face charges of forming a criminal organization, fraud, issuing fake certifications exceeding 120,000 euros at the expense of the public sector, collaborating in fraud against the public sector exceeding 120,000 euros in damages, illegally accessing and using personal data, money laundering, narcotics distribution, and trafficking harmful substances, among other offenses.

Police raids on homes, storage facilities, medical practices, pharmacies, healthcare facilities, and bank vaults yielded substantial evidence, including gold, large sums of cash, documents, and thousands of illegally prescribed drugs.

The suspects were brought before a public prosecutor and referred to an examining magistrate.