Colombian authorities arrested 5 EPS Health insurance officials Monday accused of embezzling funds intended for patients.
Five officials and former officials of private health insurer Nueva EPS were arrested, accused of involvement in 41,000 illegal payments resulting in $5.5 million being misplaced. Those arrested include Javier Agudelo Valencia, a vice-president at the company.
Prosecutors say the scam involved creating false documents to produce payments for medical procedures that never occurred.
The arrests were the result of confessions by two people already arrested in Colombia’s healthcare scandal. It is thought that between 2007 and 2010 more than $2.75 billion destined for patient care was stolen by private health insurers. Investigations are continuing.