Justice. Health Insurance Fraud: Managers of the Nobel Santé Dental Center Network Indicted

Three managers of the Nobel Santé dental center network and a pharmacist were indicted Friday in Paris on suspicion of involvement in a multi-million euro fraud against the French health insurance system, according to sources close to the case.

Two of them were imprisoned on Friday evening following a hearing before a judge of liberties and detention (JLD) which AFP was able to attend, while the other two were placed under judicial supervision, according to a source close to the case.

The heads of a network?

The two imprisoned individuals were identified by several key figures as the heads of the system, the prosecutor explained during the hearing, requesting their detention. "We dispute the criminal nature of the acts. We reserve our statements for the courts," said Alexis Gublin, lawyer for one of the two imprisoned men, contacted by AFP.

These indictments follow police custody this week, as part of a judicial investigation opened for fraud and aggravated money laundering, all as part of an organized gang.

A five million euro fraud

The facts in question span six years, from January 2018 to January 2024. The damages resulting from the fraud are currently estimated at "five million euros," the public prosecutor's representative said.

The wives of two officials, also suspected, will be brought to justice in the fall, according to sources close to the case. Two searches took place in January 2024 and another a few weeks ago, one of these sources said.

In these investigations led by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco), "bank seizures of several million euros from parent companies but also from the accounts of service providers" were carried out, according to another of these sources.

Ten de-contracted centers, including two in the Rhône

The French health insurance agency indicated that it "acknowledged" that its 12 complaints had "been dealt with by the courts." In April 2024, these "fraudulent practices" had led it to deregister ten centers. In the Rhône department, two centers are affected: those in Lyon 8th and Vénissieux, Le Progrès reported in April 2024 .

The twelve complaints, filed between 2020 and 2023, allege fraud, forgery and use of forged documents, and false declarations with the aim of obtaining or attempting to obtain an undue payment from a social security body.

According to the Health Insurance, the causes are: "fictitious, multiple or inconsistent invoices, (a) failure to comply with good practice guidelines or the conditions of coverage provided for in the nomenclature of technical acts (CCAM), (a) deterioration of healthy teeth."