Dr Albano Mendonça, from Albufeira, was convicted yesterday at the Court of Portimão and sentenced to five years in prison for forgery and fiddling the State in a drugs scam.A pharmacist from Silves also was sentenced - two years in prison for complicity in the doctor’s scheme. Another chemist was acquitted for lack of evidence.
The 62-year-old doctor issued more than 300 prescription for drugs and tests on behalf of National Health Service users, usually pensioners, without their knowledge.
Dr Mendonça used the patients’ record numbers from the Health Centre in Silves and in Algoz, where he worked, as well as from a clinic in Albufeira.
The prescribed drugs then were purchased by the doctor in pharmacies in Silves and Guia, which received reimbursement from the State through the Regional Health Administration.
Taxpayers were left around €20,000 the poorer as a result of the scam that took place between 1999 and 2001.
Both Dr Albano Mendonça and his pharmacist partner-in-crime had their sentences suspended.
