People in their 70s suspected of stealing tens of millions of won in insurance money... Non-indictment disposition

A man in his 70s who was suspected of swindling insurance money by repeatedly being hospitalized and discharged dozens of times was cleared of charges.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Tongyeong Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, who was transferred on charges of violating the Special Act on Fraud and Insurance Fraud Prevention on the 19th of last month.

Mr. A was accused of receiving insurance money by repeatedly being falsely hospitalized for diseases such as lumbar spine and intervertebral disc disorders for about 10 years since 2008. The police believed that Mr. A had swindled more than 60 million won in insurance money and handed the case over to the prosecution.

Mr. A completely denied the charges. He claimed that he only received long-term hospital treatment and hospitalization for an actual illness, and that there was no false hospitalization for the purpose of receiving insurance money.

The prosecution found it difficult to acknowledge Mr. A’s intentionality. In the case of insurance money received from 2008 to 2015, the statute of limitations has expired, and the insurance money of about 14 million won received in 2019 was also judged not to have been obtained with the intention of fraud.

At the same time, the prosecution cited the fact that the need for hospitalization treatment may vary depending on the patient's condition and the doctor's judgment, that actual treatment such as examination and surgery was performed during some hospitalizations, and that there are conflicting evaluations of the appropriateness of medical practice as grounds for non-indictment.

In addition, considering the fact that Mr. A had maintained the insurance contract normally for a long period of time and that the level of insurance premiums could not be considered excessive, it was determined that it was difficult to conclude that there was an intention to defraud.

Attorney Cho Ik-cheon of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, "We focused on the fact that there was a need for actual treatment by comparing the medical records and treatment progress," and added, "We proved that there was no intention through the legal principle that it is difficult to determine the illegality of an act of deception or swindling just because the medical practice exceeded the appropriate number of hospitalization days calculated ex post facto."

Reporter Kwon Byeong-seok (bsk730@fnnews.com)

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A man in his 70s suspected of stealing tens of millions of won in insurance money... Non-indictment disposition (Shortcut)