Santiago Court Orders Preventive Detention for Doctors Charged with Issuing Fake Medical Licenses and Criminal Conspiracy

Original article: Santiago: Prisión preventiva para médicos imputados por emisión de licencias falsas y asociación delictiva

Seven individuals, accused by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of committing ongoing crimes such as issuing false medical licenses, subsidy fraud, and criminal conspiracy from 2022 until October 2025 in Santiago, have been placed in preventive detention.

The 8th Criminal Court of Santiago ordered preventive custody for Roger Sebastián Llapo, Edgar Camelo León, Krissy Mora Duarte, Einer Ramírez Florez, Manuel Tejera Altamar, Jorge Galvis Machado, and Mayra de la Fuente Aguilar.

During the formal hearing (case number 10.072-2025), Judge Juan Carlos Valdés determined that the defendants’ freedom posed «a danger to public safety, the success of the investigation, the risk of reoffending, and the chance of flight.» He set a 120-day period for the investigation.

After the hearing, Judge Valdés explained that the number of crimes for which they have been charged and their severity will be taken into account in this case.

«The defendants, especially those who are medical professionals, allegedly issued licenses without clinical backing, resulting in significant direct financial harm to the Chilean treasury, chiefly affecting the National Health Fund (Fonasa), which finances disability benefits,» the judge noted.

Furthermore, he stated that the gravity of the crimes takes into account the modus operandi, which involved the use of front medical centers that indicate the existence of an organization aimed at committing large-scale, ongoing fraud.

Finally, the judge mentioned that preventive detention was ordered due to «the nature of the crimes, as well as the broader extent of the damage caused, as evidenced by the massive issuance of ideologically false medical licenses, impacting the public treasury and severely jeopardizing the sustainability of the healthcare system, resulting in significant social repercussions.»

Regarding the risk of flight, the judge argued that «there is a concrete risk that they will leave the country, taking advantage of the networks and connections they have with their various countries of origin and the economic resources they control,» along with the possibility «of destroying evidence, altering facts, and coordinating with each other while on the outside to reconcile their stories and hinder the success of the investigation.»

The Investigation

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, from at least 2022 to October 2025, the defendants operated criminal organizations aimed at repeatedly issuing and fraudulently selling ideologically false medical licenses, a criminal business they conducted through various medical companies created for this purpose, through which they recruited and employed foreign doctors to issue and sell medical licenses illegally.

The doctors, like the leaders of the organization, issued these medical licenses knowing they did not correspond to actual medical care, falsifying diagnoses that could not be verified, thus creating unjustified medical leave.

El Ciudadano