Swindling the North Rhine Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVNO) out of over 16 million euros, two Cologne residents, aged 32 and 33, have been sentenced to seven years and three months and six years for 25 instances of fraud - seven of which were still under investigation at trial. A 35-year-old co-defendant received a two-year suspended sentence for aid and abetment of fraud.
The fraudulent activities began in December 2021 with remarkable organizational effort, exploiting the unbureaucratic citizen tests during the Coronavirus pandemic in Germany. The defendants gained access to KVNO's billing system, which was utilized to pay out lump sums for SARS-CoV-2 pathogen citizen tests.
The presiding judge at the Cologne Regional Court stressed that the emergency situation during the crime period was not an excuse. The men profited from the pandemic, taking advantage of the unbureaucratic nature of the citizen tests introduced by the state. The verdicts against the two main defendants are not final, as an appeal is possible.
Insights:
- The Coronavirus pandemic led to multiple instances of fraud in Germany, resulting in significant damage to public funds. The Berlin State Criminal Police Office estimated the damages to be between one to one and a half billion euros.
- Legal actions have been taken to prevent and prosecute fraud related to coronavirus testing schemes. The German government has limited free tests and reduced government subsidies to end the fraud once and for all. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (NASHIP) suspended payouts to coronavirus testing centers due to legal uncertainties and ethical concerns.
- Regulatory changes and transparency initiatives have been introduced to ensure no further fraud occurs. For example, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has expressed his regret over ending free rapid tests and has proposed increasing transparency, such as removing blacked-out passages from COVID-19 protocols to rebuild public trust.
Two Cologne residents have been sentenced to long prison terms for defrauding the North Rhine Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVNO) during the Coronavirus pandemic. Leveraging the emergency situation for their gain, they operated Corona test centers within KVNO's billing system and pocketed more than 16 million euros. Testifying in the courtroom, their 35-year-old co-defendant was given a suspended sentence for aiding and abetting the fraud.
