Martinelli’s surgeon accused of ripping off US vets program

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Martinelli’s surgeon accused of ripping off US vets program

Ricardo Martinelli

Posted 10/08/2023

The surgeon Walter Kravcio, whose attentions to Ricardo Martinelli have been used by the former president's defense to try to obstruct the progress of his judicial processes, faces an investigation for the alleged commission of the crimes of qualified fraud and money laundering, to the detriment of the Treasury of the United States of America.

Kravcio, Javier Alvarado, also a neurosurgeon, and the lawyer Marianela Martínez de Alvarado were arrested last Wednesday and the events under investigation occurred between 2016 and 2021. The three were taken Thursday, handcuffed, to a hearing before a guarantee judge on Thursday.

During the hearing, it was reported that those investigated provided different medical care and other procedures in Panama to a group of military veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DAV), through the Foreign Medical Program (PME), managing a series of claims and using various schemes, such as charging for duplicate or unnecessary services or products through medical billing and false claims, some causing an injury exceeding $100,000,000

To carry out these “deceptions”, Kravcio and the Alvarado spouses would have used several companies, such as Paincare Inc., Hemodinámica de Colón, SA, Neurophys Inc., and Neuro Test Services Corp., to receive and transfer checks in the banking system.

The signatories and final beneficiaries of these accounts were the three detainees, so, according to the prosecution, they must have known that they were participating in an operation to cover up and disguise the illegitimate use of that money.

The investigation is carried out by the Second Prosecutor for Crimes against Organized Crime.

Kravcio and the Alvarados were arrested last Wednesday during police operations at their residences. The three live in the Fairway neighborhood of Santa María.

On June 22, 2021, when Martinelli had to go to trial for the unauthorized interception of communications in the last two years of his government, the defense appeared with a certificate from Kravcio indicating that the former president had undergone surgery two days before. He then explained that it was a "major spinal surgery" and that is why the defendant did not appear at the trial, for which the defense asked to reschedule it. It was postponed for a month.

Shortly before, Luis Eduardo Camacho, Martinelli's spokesman, had tweeted a video of Martinelli, bedridden in a hospital, with Kravcio.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinellis-surgeon-accused-of-ripping-off-us-vets-program

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Appeals against house arrest for doctors facing fraud trial

Posted 11/08/2023

On Monday, August 21, the hearing will be held to decide the appeal presented by both the Public Ministry and the defense of the surgeons Walter Kravcio and Javier Alvarado, both investigated for the alleged commission of aggravated fraud and money laundering through the irregular collection of medical services to US military veterans residing in Panama.

At the hearing, in the Superior Court of Appeals of the First Judicial District, the precautionary measure of home detention that the guarantee judge Marisol Ortíz issued against Kravcio and Alvarado on Thursday, August 10, one day after the apprehension of both in Santa María.

The order to remain under house arrest has an exception: the two doctors will be able to leave home to attend their workday in their offices.

According to the investigation conducted by the Second Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime, Kravcio, and Alvarado would have caused damage of approximately one million 44 thousand dollars to the US Department of the Treasury, which filed the complaint that initiated the investigations eight months ago and that, according to prosecutor Sandy Cedeño, involving another 25 people.

Kravcio gained notoriety as Ricardo Martinelli's surgeon. In fact, his attentions to the former president have been used by Martinelli's lawyers to try to obstruct the progress of his legal proceedings.

Doctors Kravcio and Alvarado were contracted by the US government to provide medical services to war veterans in Panama. Later, some stated that they had not attended appointments that were billed and collected by both doctors. This overbilling would have occurred between 2016 and 2021, through four companies used by doctors to charge for the alleged services provided: Paincare Inc., Hemodinámica de Colón, S.A., Neurophys Inc., and Neuro Test Services Corp.

Until now, the sum of $585,681 deposited in local banks has been secured, which is presumed to be part of the money paid by the US government. It was also possible to locate 24 checks for payments totaling $700,000, presumably related to those investigated.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/appeals-against-house-arrest-for-doctors-facing-fraud-trial-1