Court sets jail terms and billions in fines for Colombian doctors convicted of fake license network

Seventeen individuals were sentenced Monday by Chile’s Seventh Oral Criminal Court in Santiago for their roles in a large-scale fraud scheme involving false medical licenses issued to users of Fonasa, the country's public health insurance system. The convictions, detailed in a 308-volume judgment, include penalties ranging from prison terms to fines totaling millions of pesos. Among the convicted was Samir Enrique Rivaldo Hernández, who received a combined sentence of more than 10 years for repeated fraud charges, including issuing fake medical licenses and money laundering. The court found that the defendants created multiple front medical centers to issue over 50,000 fraudulent licenses between 2020 and December 2022, causing damage exceeding 25 billion pesos to Fonasa. These licenses allowed individuals to access healthcare services they were not entitled to, undermining the integrity of the public health system. Additionally, approximately 10,000 false licenses were issued for users of private health insurers known as isapres. The investigation revealed that the majority of the accused operated under a structure referred to as “Mititem,” named after Rivaldo Hernández’s clinic, Doctor Mitite. This network facilitated the systematic production and distribution of forged medical documents, which were used to defraud both public and private healthcare systems. Yessica María Donado Álvarez, another key figure in the case, was fined 1.573 million pesos and received more than 15 years in prison for her involvement. All the convicted individuals were given the option to pay their fines in 12 installments, with time spent in preventive detention counted toward their sentences. Six of the convicts were granted substitute sentences of intensive supervised freedom instead of incarceration. These included Nancy Marianela Verdeja Felipes, Javiera Nicole Verdeja Felipes, Marcelo Alberto Olivares López, José Luis Araya Barraza, Miguel Ángel López Hidalgo, and Luis Alberto Jeria Hermosilla. The court also ruled that the defendants must compensate the state nearly 26 billion pesos through a civil claim brought by the Council for the Defense of the State. The tribunal emphasized that its sentencing decisions were based not only on strict legal frameworks but also on the need to reinforce the rule of law against a criminal phenomenon of unprecedented scale in the country. The trial began on July 15, 2025, and faced a procedural hurdle when Judge Alejandra García voluntarily recused herself upon learning she was one of 56 judges facing potential expulsion from the judiciary for traveling abroad using a health permit. The proceedings continued under the jurisdiction of Judges José Pérez and Grace Díaz. Prosecutors from the Metropolitan Oriental Prosecutor’s Office presented evidence showing how foreign professionals involved in the case established these front clinics to produce and distribute the fraudulent licenses. The court noted that the financial losses caused by these actions directly affected the quality, coverage, and sufficiency of healthcare services available to all citizens enrolled in the national health system. The ruling highlights the sophisticated organization behind the fraud, which spanned several years and involved multiple layers of illegal activity, including the formation of an illicit association, repeated fraud, and money laundering. The court expressed concern over the potential recurrence of such crimes and stressed the importance of imposing sanctions proportionate to the severity, duration, organizational complexity, and societal harm caused by the offenses. The convicted individuals, many of whom were medical professionals, will now face the consequences of their actions, including serving their prison sentences and paying substantial fines. Their cases serve as a warning to others considering similar fraudulent activities within the healthcare sector.