Just over a month ago, the doctor in charge was charged with seven counts of fraud, seven counts of gross misrepresentation and two counts of forgery.
Today, the doctor was sentenced to one year in prison for all charges.
This despite the fact that the prosecutor only demanded in a couple of months.
"Even if it is not a question of any major amounts, the fact that [the defendant] in his capacity as a doctor has used the ongoing pandemic for his own gain means that the penalty value for the fraud crimes is significantly higher," writes Gothenburg District Court.
Prosecutor: He has abused his respect
In April 2020, the doctor started a care company that offered quick answers to PCR tests.
In total, the clinic received 120 PCR tests, seven of which were never analyzed, according to chamber prosecutor James von Reis.
- The white coat inspires respect, but he has abused it in the grossest way.
Not a single certificate has a background in reality.
He has issued them without having any idea whether the people traveling were contagious or not.
It is an act designed to increase the spread of infection during the ongoing pandemic, von Reis von said during the trial's closing arguments, reports DN.
Defense Attorney: The penalty is remarkable
The doctor, on the other hand, denies any wrongdoing.
He believes that the PCR tests, to his knowledge, have been analyzed correctly and maintains that he has not created false documents.
- It is clear that the verdict is regrettable for my client because he claims his innocence.
If you look at the verdict as such, I can note that in principle they have not argued about our objections and that the penalty is remarkably high, says defense lawyer Björn Hurtig to SVT.
He believes that the prosecutor relied too much on the laboratory's internal investigation and has decided to appeal the district court's ruling.
20,000 in damages
The verdict is based on written evidence and several interrogations, including with staff from the laboratory that was stated to have tested the samples.
The district court's assessment is that "the laboratory has not received or analyzed any samples from the doctor or his company".
Nor have they provided any test results, either in writing or orally.
According to the indictment, the doctor must have defrauded himself of a total of SEK 24,630 from six plaintiffs, who according to the verdict must be compensated with damages totaling just over SEK 20,000.
The man still has his doctor's ID, but the Swedish Health and Care Inspectorate may investigate the matter.
- If he is dropped, it will certainly be a question of whether he can be a doctor anymore, says Hurtig.