MADRID.- a citizen Cuban has been arrested by the Police in Madrid after impersonating a doctor in a private clinic, where he consulted patients, ordered diagnostic tests and prescribed medications using false credentials.
According to the review Spanish newspaper ABCthe 43-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed, introduced himself as a specialist in endoscopy and worked as a gastroenterologist at the health center.
The situation was discovered when a patient noticed the fraud and alerted the real doctor whose identity had been impersonated. “Doctor, there is a doctor in your old office who pretends to be you,” they informed him.
The original doctor, who had stopped working at the clinic in July 2023, filed a complaint at the Centro District Police Station in early April. In his complaint, he explained that the impostor had started working at the clinic since his departure, using his seal and signing prescriptions and diagnostic tests in his name. The impostor billed more than 1,000 appointments for 784 patients in just nine months.
The Spanish Police confirmed that both the healthcare center's website and the consultation showed the complainant's details, although it was the imposter who treated the patients. In addition, patients left appointments with prescriptions and diagnostic tests prescribed under the license number of the real doctor.
The report indicated that it is unknown if the detainee practiced medicine in Cuba. However, upon checking his information, the authorities confirmed that he was not registered or authorized to practice the medical profession in Spain.
The agents detained the individual on charges of usurpation of marital status, document falsification and professional intrusion. During the arrest, two medical stamps, four prescriptions and flyers for diagnostic tests with the complainant's stamp were confiscated.
The report also highlighted that the company that had hired the impostor billed a percentage of the amount paid by various insurance entities for prescribed medical consultations and tests, a common practice in Spanish health insurance companies. The Police are investigating the person responsible for hiring the detained Cuban.
