ATHENS – A pharmacist on Crete who still hasn’t been named despite being convicted of filing false negative COVID-19 results with the state without giving the test reportedly registered 2,918 of them.
Inspectors from the National Transparency Authority, in collaboration with officers from the Financial Police Directorate, established that there was no corresponding test number for that number uploaded to the National COVID-19 Patient Registry, said Kathimerini.
He then submitted invoices for the purchase of a brand of test that, however, was not being sold at the time by the alleged supplier and charged customers 7 euros ($7.90) to give them fake results so they wouldn’t face restrictions on the unvaccinated, letting loose into the population people who may be infected.
Besides informing a prosecutor, the inspectors also notified the Independent Public Revenue Authority over possible tax violations but it wasn’t said if he would face any more charges for the 20,496 euros ($23,117) he pocketed.
He had his license taken away for six months and was given three years probation after being found guilty of falsifying the tests with CretaLive reporting probation was given on condition he give the University General Hospital of Heraklion 1000 euros ($1127.78) but no reason for the leniency for a crime which could have spread the deadly Coronavirus.
He also faces fines of 3,600 euros ($4,060) but no report how much money he made by being paid to put false results onto government platforms.
He had been charged with falsifying medical certificates and violating ongoing pandemic measures, at the risk of infecting an indefinite amount of people. He requested a delay which was rejected by the court.
Kathimerini said that it was told by sources it didn’t name that a plainclothes officer went into the pharmacy to take a test and that the pharmacist asked for his national insurance number to enter a negative result onto a national online platform.
The local pharmacists’ association said they would initiate disciplinary proceedings against him but it wasn’t said when or what further penalties he could face.