- Penalties for deceitful practices in Corona diagnostic facilities
Due to a swindle involving approximately 480,000 bogus COVID-19 test results, the Regional Court of Darmstadt has convicted two brothers from South Hesse to imprisonment terms of 3.5 and 3 years and 2 months respectively. The culprits managed a total of 27 testing sites in Darmstadt and South Hesse between June 2021 and May 2022.
The 31 and 28-year-old suspects from Roßdorf confessed in court to producing 480,000 fake negative COVID-19 test results and submitting fraudulent claims to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Hesse (KV). "The total loss is estimated at 1.3 million euros," stated the presiding judge in the judgment.
The defendants developed a self-created software to fabricate the lists of test results, names, and addresses. This software utilized the names and addresses of individuals who had actually been tested, as well as their places of residence. One of the inconsistencies detected by the KV was the defendants' attempt to charge 10,000 consecutive negative COVID-19 tests from a 5,000-resident municipality in the Odenwald.
The judgment is contingent on an agreement between the court, prosecution, and defense. It is not yet legally binding.
The swindle occurred at 27 testing sites, including those in the city of Darmstadt. Despite their conviction, the deceitful brothers operated in Darmstadt and various areas in South Hesse for over a year.
