A man wanted in the United States on suspicion of fraud has been arrested at Faro Airport. The detention followed the execution of an international warrant linked to an alleged scheme that is believed to have generated millions of euros.
Portugal’s Judiciary Police (PJ), through its Southern Directorate, located and detained the foreign national on Wednesday, 4th March, at Faro Airport. The man is sought by authorities in the United States over suspected fraud involving the country’s healthcare benefits system.
The arrest followed international police cooperation and the exchange of intelligence that enabled investigators to locate the suspect and execute an international arrest warrant issued by US judicial authorities.
According to the PJ, the man is suspected of fraudulently obtaining more than 30 million dollars (over €25 million) in reimbursements from the Medicare programme. Investigators allege that in 2023 he submitted around 370,000 false reimbursement claims for Covid-19 diagnostic tests that were never requested or delivered to the supposed beneficiaries.
Authorities believed the suspect was somewhere in continental Europe and determined that he had been travelling between Portugal and the Netherlands. He was preparing to board a flight to the Netherlands at the time of his arrest.
The 39-year-old will now appear before the Évora Court of Appeal, which will consider the request for his extradition to the United States.
Source: PJ
