The suspicion of a bank started the case in a completely different direction. She suspected money laundering behind the conspicuous transactions of a customer, on whose identity the “Bavarian Central Office for Combating Fraud and Corruption in the Health Care System” (ZKG), based at the General Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nuremberg, does not want to provide any further information for the time being. “For tactical investigative reasons,” as it is called. The man has been in custody since early October. No fewer than 70 police officers and two public prosecutors searched several apartments and offices in and around Nuremberg and confiscated numerous documents, including digital ones, which are currently being evaluated. It is about large-scale fraud with corona rapid tests.
Since May 3, the accused has been running several corona test stations in Nuremberg, Fürth and Schwabach. He is said to have billed more tests than were actually carried out. The ZKG boss and senior public prosecutor Richard Findl put the alleged damage at 260,000 euros; During the raid on October 11th, the investigators secured a good 100,000 euros in cash. Of course, the presumption of innocence applies until a final judgment has been reached.
Fake QR codes sold
Since June, all suspected fraud cases in the billing of corona rapid tests in Bavaria have been monitored centrally by the Nuremberg ZKG. It has existed for over a year, which was heavily influenced by corona-related offenses. “The pandemic shows, almost like under a magnifying glass, the vulnerability of the health system to fraudsters,” says Findl. Where there is a lot of money involved, as in the fight against the coronavirus, and at the same time little control, criminals find ample opportunities to make illegal fraud.
As in the case of a Munich pharmacy, which is said to have sold at least 604 illegal vaccination certificates including falsified QR codes, for 180 to 350 euros each. The investigators secured almost 110,000 euros in proceeds from the illegal transactions. The clientele was acquired via the Darknet; she not only paid cash, but mostly with cryptocurrencies. Two main suspects are in custody. In the meantime, the ZKG has also identified the 604 buyers of the forged vaccination certificates; they too must expect criminal proceedings.
It’s almost always about fraud
Last year, Bavaria’s Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich calculated that 425 billion euros were spent in the German health care system during a visit to the ZKG in Nuremberg. “The perpetrators not only cause high financial damage, but also risk the health and lives of other people in individual cases.” 17 special forces, 14 of them public prosecutors, work for this special investigation unit. Similar to the Cybercrime Central Office at the Bamberg Public Prosecutor’s Office, which fights cybercrime, the ZKG has also found a handy approach to concentrate crimes in areas that require special know-how in a nationwide unit with specially trained specialists. Before the ZKG was founded, fraud and corruption in the health care system in Bavaria were divided between the three public prosecutor’s offices in Munich, Nuremberg and Hof.
When it started on September 15 last year, the ZKG took over 254 ongoing proceedings from them. In the meantime, Findl and his people initiated another 197. It’s almost always about fraud. According to Justice Minister Eisenreich, three quarters of the investigations concern doctors, nursing services and physiotherapists. They are usually reported by the authorities or statutory health insurance companies; around 30 percent of the proceedings are based on criminal complaints from private individuals. “Especially in the area of corruption, when both the bribing and the bribed benefit, it is difficult to get in,” says Eisenreich.
Tampering in the nursing home
The investigations are usually time-consuming and require technical expertise. This is the case with the Schliersee senior citizens’ residence, which is also processed by the Nuremberg ZKG. During their investigations into several deaths, the Munich II public prosecutor’s office came across evidence of billing fraud. Apparently the personal key of the home was manipulated over a long period of time. According to the allegation, a full staffing of the nursing service is supposed to have been faked in order to settle the full remuneration with the health insurers accordingly. However, the actual number of nurses was lower than stated. For the investigators, who include three accounting specialists, this means checking exactly when and where how many nurses were on duty in the home and comparing this with the accounts of the payers.
Justice Minister Eisenreich sees a whistleblower system that has been online since October 1st as a step forward in the fight against fraud and corruption. Anyone can give the ZKG information there by name or anonymously. Eisenreich does not believe that this will open the door to denunciation, as the Union criticized at a similar portal against tax evasion in Baden-Württemberg. Anyone who misuses the ZKG whistleblower system for personal purposes must expect a procedure themselves. Incidentally, the portal has been running as a pilot project for four years; only then can one judge effectiveness and meaningfulness. So far 45 reports have been received via the portal.
ZKG manager Findl believes that this can also be done anonymously. In any case, one can digitally ask the whistleblower what makes investigations and assessments easier. This is not possible with anonymous letters that are traditionally received by post. And by no means everything, according to Findl, that arrives anonymously is wrong. The Siemens bribery scandal, for example, would never have been exposed had it not been for someone who had not sent a two-page letter anonymously to the Munich public prosecutor’s office.