Leiria Court Convicts Pharmaceutical Company and Company for Qualified Fraud

This Wednesday, the Leiria Court convicted the pharmaceutical company and the company for committing the crimes of qualified fraud and computer fraud in collaboration with losses to the state of about 100 thousand euros.

The panel of judges proved the facts set out in the prosecutor’s indictment and sentenced the pharmacist to four years in prison for qualified fraud and two years for computer fraud.

As a legal culmination, the Leiria court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment, suspended for the same period, subject to probation and payment of 50 thousand euros to the state.

The defendant was also ordered to pay jointly with the company €101,668.01 plus interest.

The Leiria court also sentenced the company to pay 27 thousand euros “a fine for 270 days at a daily rate of 100 euros.”

According to the decision of the Office of the Public Prosecutor (MP), “on a date that is not specifically defined, but coincides with January 1, 2012 or earlier,” the defendant “was aware of the operation of the SIFARMA2000 computer management and billing program.” , established in institutions, “has decided that it will also introduce into this program the identification of reimbursable drugs that were not sold as if they were sold.”

The aim was to “obtain reimbursement” from the SNS (National Health Service) “for those medicines it did not sell, in order to compensate for suspended and irregular sales for which the defendant company was not entitled to reimbursement.” “, the indictment says.

The deputy explained that, in pursuance of a previously drawn up plan, the pharmaceutical company introduced into the program the sale of drugs that pharmacies did not sell – a situation that occurred between 2012 and 2016.

Continuing to follow the plan, the defendant, by introducing into the CIPHARMA program sales of medicines that do not correspond to any transaction, presented documents that also indicate that non-existent sales are reimbursed by the SNS, the MP said.

The pharmacist then submitted the documents prepared by the SIFARMA2000 system to the Billing Conference Center, thus demanding payment of the government contribution amount.

The prosecution alleged that it unlawfully obtained for itself and on behalf of the defendant company payment of such contributions from the Portuguese State in the total amount of EUR 101,668.01.”

According to one of the witnesses at the first trial, the accused, as well as her daughter and employees, went to a pharmacy in Leiria to purchase drugs, which were 100% reimbursed by the state. The prescription was written by the defendant’s husband, a physician by profession who, according to the defendant’s pharmacist, had a private practice.

“They came to my pharmacy almost every day. When I saw the number of prescriptions for drugs, participation in which was paid in full, I reported this to the Order of Pharmacists. It seemed to me an exaggeration that these are always the same drugs. recipes usually included the woman’s name [arguida] from the doctor who prescribed it,” said the witness, the then owner of a pharmacy in Leiria.

The witness believed that “there was no medical justification for such a number of insulin prescriptions.”