The first caesura hearing in the trial for the Ipross scam was not only marked by tension and requests for sanctions between the lawyers of both parties. The updated amounts of the damage suffered by the social work of the Rio Negro State were also revealed, concluding that the sums received by the Roca pharmacies involved represent 4,157 million pesosas of April of this year.
This precision emerged during the statement of the accounting expert of the Judicial Branch, Gastón Lehner, who provided other compelling data to graph the magnitude of the damage caused to the treasury during the period investigated, which was from 2013 to 2019.
The professional explained that The global sum of the fraud committed by the four convicted pharmacists represents 23.43% of the total billing to Ipross of the 259 pharmacies authorized throughout the province during the year 2023.
Another cut made from the expertise indicates that in the five pharmacies (four in Roca and one in Allen) where illegal acts were discovered, they pocketed a lump sum that represents 43.23% of everything paid in a year by plans for members with diabetes or epilepsy.
“In diabetes and epilepsy, it is equivalent to the sales of 112 pharmacies”stated the expert, who testified from Viedma via Zoom.
It is worth remembering that a good part of the medicines or supplies charged to Ipross without there having been a real benefit to affiliates had to do with these diseases, which have 100% coverage by social work.
Lehner specified that As of April 11 of this year, the exact updated figure of the damage reached 4,157,180,246.80 pesosthen offering detailed detail about what damage was caused in each of the pharmacies involved.
The first mention was about the Fasano de Allen pharmacy, whose owner died, with an updated sum of 252,535,603.93 pesos. The Tucumán pharmacy, owned by Fabio Caffaratti, generated an updated loss of 1,789,546,299.02 pesos; while at the Santa Teresita pharmacy, owned by Raúl Mascaró, the figure reached 942,230,562.06 pesos.
In the Araucana pharmacy, owned by Rodolfo Mastandrea, the amount updated by the official expertise speaks of an impact on Ipross of 968,296,204.84 pesos.
And finally, at the Farmacentro pharmacy, whose former owners are already convicted, serving a three-year suspended prison sentence, what was received irregularly amounted to 204,571,577.04 pesos.
It should be remembered that in addition to the three pharmacists mentioned, the fourth convicted person who goes through this stage to know the sentence and the method of execution is Sandra Fasano, former auditor of the College of Pharmacists.
In yesterday’s hearing, the president of the Argentine Pharmaceutical Confederation (COFA), Ricardo Pesenti, also testified as witnesses; and the current vice president of the Río Negro College of Pharmacists, Roberto Zgaib.
The final testimony of the day was given by David Baffoni, director of the Telecommunications Investigation Office (Oitel) of the Judiciary, who provided details about the movable and immovable property, in addition to the financial situation of each of those convicted of the Ipross scam.
After the exchanges that occurred early in the morning, the counterpoints between the defenses, the prosecution and the complaint continued during the afternoon.
Patricia Espeche, representative of Fasano, Mastandrea and Mascaró, even requested the suspension of the hearing, considering that a “defective procedural activity”but his claim was rejected by the court.
Today at 8:30 the hearing will resume, with the defense witnesses, to arrive tomorrow at the arguments, a previous step to the sentence that will define in the first instance the sentences to be served by each convicted person.
