Coquimbo Physician Remanded in Custody for Issuing 11,880 Fraudulent Medical Licenses

Original article: Coquimbo: Prisión preventiva para médico ecuatoriano que emitió 11.880 licencias fraudulentas

The Coquimbo Guarantee Court has ordered pretrial detention for an Ecuadorian surgeon, identified by the initials L.R.C.Z., who is accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of repeatedly issuing fraudulent medical licenses and committing subsidy fraud, acts he allegedly carried out between January 2023 and June 2025 in this commune.

During the formal hearing, Judge Darío Díaz mandated the physician’s imprisonment due to flight risk, without bail. Additionally, he set the investigation period at 120 days.

According to the prosecutor’s office, between January 1, 2023, and June 5, 2025, «the accused, a general practitioner without any registered specialty in the individual health provider registry of the Superintendency of Health, issued a total of 11,880 electronic medical licenses through the operators I-Med and Medipass, for both Fonasa affiliates (11,239) and isapres (935), under his name as an individual provider and also through the Surmédica SpA health center, established by the accused and his mother, located in Coquimbo commune.»

In line with the investigation, out of the total electronic medical licenses issued, 275 were issued in person and 11,065 remotely, making the accused the largest issuer of medical licenses nationwide in 2024.

«The vast majority of licenses correspond to diagnoses of mental health disorders and musculoskeletal diseases, contrasting with the fact that the accused has no medical specialty at all,» the ruling states.

Moreover, in this context, «the accused issued 36 medical licenses to 34 public officials who traveled abroad during their sick leave; and another six licenses to public officials who attended gaming casinos,» the ruling adds.

Additionally, from the total licenses granted by the accused to Fonasa patients, 10,741 were processed, resulting in an improper labor incapacity subsidy payment of $4,639,802,932.