BERLIN, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The highly anticipated trial of a nursing "mafia" for allegedly defrauding the German care system opened on Wednesday at the Duesseldorf district court.
Eight defendants, mainly from Ukraine, are accused by the state prosecutor of having caused damage of at least 8.5 million euros (10.15 million U.S. dollars) by committing gang fraud.
Criminal authorities have amassed a wealth of evidence suggesting that the individuals charged devised a systematic scheme to invoice fictitious care and medical services for around 250 patients. They hereby worked as private contractors treating outpatients of the German public care system.
The group failed to render the expensive services for which it invoiced over the course of years, however, and only employed one trained nurse for hardship cases. Instead, cleaning personnel, which was paid the minimum wage, was sent over to help tidy up patients' homes.
When questioned, one elderly woman stated that checking the list of services at the end of the month was always a hectic process. Patients did not read through the documentation presented by the gang thoroughly and were threatened with a reduction in care provision when they raised questions.
Furthermore, the gang appears to have paid significant sums in hush money to patients as well as doctors involved. Private care operators are required to get patients and medical professional to sign off on their services. In some cases, patients were offered entirely unrelated services, such as manicures and pedicures, and monthly payments of up to 800 euros in compensation.
Doctors and patients who made themselves complicit in the scheme in this fashion now also face criminal charges. Two doctors were allegedly paid 65,000 euros in one month alone for maintaining their silence.
The attention of German criminal investigators was first drawn to the case when they discovered suspicious files and invoices in a cellar during a drug raid.
Testimonies obtained by police suggest that the gang on trial is only one of many groups defrauding the German care system. One defendant unwittingly revealed to undercover investigators that he knew of at least 40 companies which successfully ran similar schemes.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) estimates that around a billion euros (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) are invoiced incorrectly every year to German public health insurers.
In addition to charges of gang fraud, the eight defendants are also confronted with claims of tax evasion.
