A lawyer has accepted a two-year prison sentence and a €180,000 fine in Barcelona for his role in a scheme to falsify medical reports and defraud the Social Security system in Manresa and Berga. The agreement, reached on Monday at the 21st Section of the Barcelona Provincial Court, allows the accused to avoid immediate imprisonment if he has no prior criminal record.
The Public Prosecutor's Office had initially sought a six-year prison term and a fine exceeding €2.1 million for the lawyer, who, while practising, orchestrated a network of medical report falsification between Manresa and Berga. The objective was to fraudulently obtain disability pensions, according to prosecutors. The scheme caused financial damage to Social Security amounting to over €361,000.
Details of the Fraudulent Scheme
According to the indictment, the lawyer manipulated medical documents originating from Hospital Sant Bernabé in Berga and Clínica Sant Josep in Manresa. He altered diagnoses, dates, or signatures to bolster disability claims in at least sixteen judicial procedures processed in Manresa. These practices, prosecutors contend, led to favourable resolutions in several cases, resulting in the significant financial loss for the Social Security system.
The Public Prosecutor's Office described a continuous operation spanning at least sixteen procedures handled by Social Court number 1 in Manresa. In all these cases, the lawyer acted as the representative for workers seeking recognition of a permanent disability.
Charges and Further Proceedings
As part of the agreement, the court informed the accused that the sentence would attribute to him a continuous crime of document falsification, another of continuous procedural fraud, a continuous crime of presenting false documents in court, and a continuous crime of defrauding the Social Security benefits system. Additionally, the lawyer has accepted a three-year prohibition from receiving Social Security pensions or tax incentives. A mitigating factor for undue delays was also agreed upon by the parties.
Beyond the lawyer's conviction, a separate trial has commenced to determine whether the beneficiaries of the Social Security benefits, from whom the Public Prosecutor's Office is demanding civil liability indemnities, were genuinely entitled to them.
