Traumatologist in Mykolaiv is imprisoned because of disability scheme

In Mykolaiv, a traumatologist was exposed who, together with a colleague, sold fictitious disabilities for $11,000. The court sent the organizer of the scheme to a pre-trial detention center without bail for undermining the country's defense capability.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the case file, the doctor acted in collusion with a surgeon at the Mykolaiv City Emergency Hospital. The investigation believes that they organized a mechanism for producing fictitious medical documents that allowed men of military age to receive the third group of disability without real medical grounds. This, in turn, made it possible to avoid mobilization.

One of the doctors offered a "service" to a person liable for military service - registration of disability for 12 thousand US dollars. Later, the amount was reduced to $11,000, which was transferred in two installments. The first $5,000 was paid to "start the process," and the rest was paid after the results were received.

Over the course of several months, the doctors, together with unidentified individuals, created a package of false documents: fictitious diagnoses, fictitious inpatient treatment, and referrals for expert health assessments. In particular, the documents contained diagnoses that did not correspond to the patient's actual condition, but allowed them to justify the establishment of disability.

A separate stage of the scheme was instructing the client: before the commission, he was taught how to simulate the symptoms of diseases. After that, the man was evaluated by an expert committee and received an official conclusion on the establishment of the third group of disability, which became the basis for a deferral from mobilization.

The law enforcement documented the transfer of the entire amount of the unlawful benefit - a total of $11 thousand. After the transaction was completed, the funds were distributed among the participants of the scheme.

In April, the suspected doctor was detained. Investigators pointed out the risks: the possibility of escape, influence on witnesses, destruction of evidence or continuation of criminal activity. The court agreed with these arguments and chose the most severe measure of restraint - detention without alternative to bail. The doctor faces up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. The investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement officers are identifying other possible participants in the scheme.

Also in March, Vira Belyakova, the former acting chief physician of the regional medical examination center, who is accused of issuing false documents about the unfitness of a person liable for military service, pleaded guilty. During the hearing, the court considered the possibility of approving the agreement between the accused and the prosecutor's office.

Анна Бальчінос