DUBLIN: A doctor from North Dublin has been arrested by fraud squad detectives on suspicion of signing off on 20 bogus medical certificates for non-existent people.
The man in his 50s is being questioned at a Garda station in north Dublin by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), which is investigating about 200 insurance claims made using fake identities and utility bills backed by false medical certificates.
According to senior detective sources, the doctor’s case involves insurance claims for “soft-tissue injuries and other medical complications”.
Senior sources suspect that the doctor has been involved in this crime over a considerable period of time.
“At the very least the arrested doctor is suspected of being reckless in terms of these medical certs. This is a complex investigation into a solicitor’s company that have set up a virtual office here in Ireland,” a senior source said. “It is suspected that multiple claims have been made in the names of people that don’t even exist but these things are not easy to prove,” the source added.
A Garda spokesman said that the GNECB arrested a man on Friday, April 2, 2021 as part of an ongoing investigation under Operation Fraction. The doctor was arrested for breaching Sections 6 and 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 and is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act of 1984.
“It is alleged that approximately 200 insurance claims were made using false identities, false utility bills supported by false medical certificates,” the Garda spokesman added.
The complaints were filed by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) and other agencies. The Fraud squad officers have been investigating the case for over a year after receiving the complaints. At least one more doctor is likely to be arrested as part of the GNECB’s detailed investigation.
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