A Cuban man, Lorenzo Ramón Castaño Suárez, age 52, was on the run until an international arrest warrant was issued and he was found in Miami, USA and returned to Costa Rica, where he must face charges.
He is the main suspect in a fraud crime against the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. ₡53 million was allegedly scammed from the CCSS by charging for products not needed by real patients.
They were orthopedic parts, such as pins, plates and prostheses. Some were charged for patients in other areas who had no orthopedic concerns. Others were charged for deceased people. Invoices confiscated in two hospitals determined that many of the supplies were not required by any patient.
The doctor insists he is innocent as he was not in charge of seeing what the products were used for. He stated that many doctors refused to fill out the paperwork needed to use supplies so there was a general lack of control of where the parts went.
