A 17-year-old ripped off German health insurance, from whom he demanded 5.7 million euros (C$7.7 million) by setting up a fake COVID testing center, reports the French media Latest News from Alsace.
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Between March and June 2021, the young man billed nearly 500,000 false COVID tests to the KV, an association of doctors contracted by the German health insurance services. This reimbursed the costs to the fake screening center, which demanded 5,000 tests per day.
The teenager had registered his fictitious screening center on the KV website, giving as his postal address that of a bar where he sometimes went with friends and where he had also mentioned this idea of a scam during an evening with his friends.
However, the young man’s scheme was brought to light thanks to the vigilance of an employee of the teenager’s bank. He noticed incredible inflows of money into his client’s account, so he decided to alert the authorities.
The police eventually discovered the scam and arrested the young man. Now 19, he was sentenced last Monday to a one-year probation period during which he must not commit any offence. If he succeeds, no sanction will be imposed on him.
The accused was nevertheless ordered to pay 1,500 euros to a charity. The 5.7 million euros he obtained through his scam were entirely returned to the association which had been defrauded by him.
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