Two midlands-based doctors and a secretary are to stand trial accused of multiple counts of stealing money under a state-funded public healthcare scheme and submitting false medical service claims.
46 year old Doctor Waqas Farooqi Belvedere Hills, Mullingar, in Westmeath, and 59 year old Doctor Muhammad Azam, of The Rocks, Stonepark, in Longford, as well as 56 year old Gillian McCord, of Knockanboy, in Longford, appeared at a sitting of Longford District Court to face a total of 138 charges between them.
The Irish Independent is reporting the accused were each charged with 20 counts of theft from the HSE’s Primary Care Reimbursement Scheme at 19 Dublin Street, Longford between 2017 and 2019.
Twenty-two further charges were also issued against all three concerning the alleged use of false general medical services claims or out-of-hours payment forms for 12 patients at the Primary Care Reimbursement Services head offices, Exit 50, North Road, Finglas, Dublin 11.
The charges allege false medical documentation was used to indicate that a particular patient had received a “medical service” with the “intent of inducing another person to accept it as genuine”.
Dr Azam and Dr Farooqi were both charged with multiple counts of money laundering.
All three of the accused are to be sent forward for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court.
All three were remanded on bail with conditions, to a sitting of Longford District Court on July 8 for the anticipated serving of a book of evidence.
