In just a few clicks, this healthcare professional was picking up the taxpayer's pockets to continue living beyond his means.
A 64-year-old pharmacist and his partner, aged 40, were arrested in Paris before being brought to the Versailles courthouse on Tuesday.
They are suspected of having organized a huge fraud at the primary health insurance fund (CPAM) after having implemented a false antigenic test campaign for damage estimated at 1.5 million euros.
By authorization to carry out a screening campaign
It was on August 28, 2023 that the financial crime brigade of the judicial police was responsible for carrying out the investigation following a complaint filed by the CPAM against the manager of a Versailles pharmacy.
Concretely, the suspected pharmacist would have requested undue reimbursements for antigenic tests for Covid 19 for a total loss of 1.5 million euros.
The fraudster's method was astonishingly simple.
“He presented the CPAM with 2,196 fictitious electronic invoices using the identifiers of his predecessor at the pharmacy,” explains a source close to the case.
In addition, the healthcare professional had neither the authorization nor the personnel to organize a screening campaign.
Officials scrutinized his accounts.
They discovered that the healthcare professional was happily confusing his company's cash register with his pocket.
The sixty-year-old moved more than a million euros from the pharmacy's bank account to his and that of his partner who works as a salaried notary.
The pharmacy's bank card is also used for leisure expenses or luxury products.
800,000 euros of criminal assets seized
On October 11, the police raided the “Pharmacy of Satory” and arrested the practitioner and his partner.
The searches led to the seizure of numerous luxury goods and two vehicles from their home located in Paris in the 7th arrondissement.
During his hearings, suspect number one minimizes the amount of fraud and his responsibility.
He confides that he is depressed and this would explain his fraudulent behavior.
What did he do with all that money?
“Part of the funds would have been used to repay debts contracted for starting his business, but also to maintain his high lifestyle,” specifies a source close to the matter.
His other half admits to having received 250,000 euros in his account.
She maintains that her companion told her that he was banned from banking.
The Identification of Criminal Assets Group (GIAC) explored the heritage of this duo.
Justice seized the money from the accounts and two apartments estimated at 800,000 euros.