The dialogues of the members of the circles who were active in committing criminal fraud against the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY), through the virtual prescription of pharmaceuticals, which were dismantled by the Economic Police Directorate, are revealing. In particular, 4 doctors, 8 pharmacists and employees, a medical visitor and a private individual, had set up a factory of false prescriptions at the expense of EOPPY since 2020.

Their dialogues:

  • Pharmacist: Keep the coupons. Well, both the big and the small, put them in a black bag so that nothing can be seen.
  • Clerk: Fine.
  • Apothecary: Put them in a black bag.
  • Clerk: Yes? And do I throw them away from the pharmacy or here near us?
  • Pharmacist: No. Far, of course. As far as possible.

There is also a another conversation between a pharmacist and his employee:

  • Pharmacist: And you will also get the certificate and we will continue to write it say, on purpose.
  • Employee: To show that he is taking it for pain! I understood.
  • Apothecary: To make it clear that it is for pain, and not that it was for epilepsy. To create a new history for pain now.

In another conversation it is characteristically mentioned:

  • Pharmacist: Well, because I had given you several lists of these six-month prescriptions.
  • Associate: Yes
  • Pharmacist: And I don’t see that you have brought any. Has your doctor given them elsewhere?
  • Associate: No. Well, I’ll send it to you now. Some have IKA, I will send you.

As it emerged from the investigation of the economic police, the members of the spiral prescribed drugs and preparations to foreigners who were either in prisons or had left the country. In this way, the insured foreigners could not detect the fraud, while they did not hesitate to use the AMKA of uninsured who had zero participation in the cost of purchasing the medicines. The members of the spiral operating in Attica and Boeotia forged the signatures of the insured and executed the prescriptions. Total they had used 3 516 AMKA, executed 90,186 prescriptions, while the loss for EOPYY exceeds 3.5 million euros.

It is noted that, among the drugs they falsely prescribed, are narcotics as well as other psychotropic substances, while some of the drugs are in short supply, both in the Greek and international markets.

The proceeds of their illegal activity were either mixed with legitimate income through the issuance of fictitious retail receipts, or kept in safe deposit boxes of banking institutions.

In searches carried out in homes, storage areas, clinics, pharmacies, Public Health Facilities and bank safes, the following were found and confiscated:

  • over 9,000 packages of illegally prescribed pharmaceutical preparations, including preparations containing narcotic substances,
  • 451,140 Euros, 10,000 US Dollars, 8,000 Australian Dollars,
  • 2 gold bars total weight 1 kg, 109 gold pounds,
  • number of documents (handwritten notes with doctors’ payments, doctors’ stamps, prescriptions/opinions, etc.),
  • mobile phones, computers as well as other digital persuasions.

Those arrested were taken to the competent prosecutor’s office and referred to a main interrogation.

It is reminded that citizens can contact, anonymously or by name, the telephone number 11012 or the website of the Greek State (gov.gr) “Complaint for financial crimes”, to provide information or to report illegal and fraudulent actions or activities against the sector of the economy, public property, as well as social and insurance welfare and rights.

EOPYY: The Organization will take legal action

Those who attempt fraud at the expense of EOPYY and its insured persons will be brought to justice, reports EOPYY on the occasion of the dismantling of virtual prescription circuits with millions of euros in damage to the Organization.

As stated in an announcement, after a thorough investigation by the competent services of EOPYY, two complete files with indications of systemic fraud by doctors and pharmacists at the expense of EOPYY were sent to the Economic Police for investigation in October 2023, on the basis of which the Economic Police, after and from its own investigation with its own means resulted in the arrest of doctors, pharmacists and others involved in two criminal organizations, as stated in the Police press release dated 9/16/2024.

“The experienced doctors and pharmacists of the EOPYY, combined the targeted checks that have been systematically carried out in the last twelve months by the competent services of the EOPYY to observe the compensation restrictions on iron, vitamin D and magnesium medicines with the updated limit checks from the beginning of 2024 prescription (ceiling) with complaints from insured persons for unknowingly prescribing and carrying out in their AMKA preparations, including the drug legislation”.

According to the EOPYY, after cross-checking the information systems of the EOPYY and the Health Insurance File and, apart from prescriptions outside of indications and overdoses of preparations of specific companies, similarities in the diagnoses, pharmaceutical preparations, active substances and dosages were observed in doctors’ prescriptions , but also high execution rates in terms of the number and value of prescriptions in specific pharmacies.

The established high delinquency of doctors by the competent services of the EOPYY led the EOPYY to attribute the damage found to the prescribing doctors and to impose the prescribed sanctions and the EOPYY will take legal action to safeguard its interests, the Organization’s announcement concludes.