In the Odesa region, a nurse avoided jail time for falsifying medical certificates

The Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City and District Court of Odesa Oblast approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor and a nurse at the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City Multidisciplinary Hospital, in which she pleaded guilty to a series of crimes.

As noted in the court’s ruling, the charges include: evading military service through self-mutilation or by other means; evading conscription during mobilization, during a special period, and evading military service as a reservist during a special period; forgery of documents; and obtaining unlawful benefits.

For all these crimes, the nurse was sentenced to six years in prison, with a three-year ban on holding positions in healthcare facilities and the confiscation of her property. However, in accordance with a plea agreement with the prosecution, she was released from serving her actual sentence in exchange for a guilty plea and was placed on a two-year probationary period, during which she must: periodically report to the authorized probation authority for registration; notify the authorized probation authority of any change in her place of residence, employment, or education.

She was also subject to an additional penalty in the form of a three-year ban on holding positions in healthcare institutions and the confiscation of her property.

What She Is Accused Of

According to the case file, the nurse was a member of a criminal group organized by a trauma surgeon and his accomplice—a cardiologist who headed the expert team responsible for assessing an individual’s functional capacity.  

The senior nurse served as the medical registrar and chief intermediary: she recruited clients, coordinated the transfer of money, and facilitated the forgery of documents. Investigators documented how the group arranged fictitious disability status for three clients in exchange for $1,300, $1,500, and $900. But then they demanded $3,000 from one client, who subsequently contacted law enforcement. 

Кирило Бойко