They withdrew the money deposited by employees and used it for purposes unrelated to the fund's original purpose. And when the legitimate owners requested their funds back, they exploited the contributions made by those who had joined later. A Ponzi scheme that eventually broke down and led to an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza into two former administrators of the solidarity fund for employees of the Nuoro Local Health Authority (ASL): the former president and a former member of the board of directors are under investigation.
The fund, established in the early 1990s, was established to allow for the setting aside of part of the salary to be collected at the end of a career and is funded by voluntary deductions from the emoluments of healthcare workers.
The investigation, which began in early 2025 following a complaint filed by one of the current directors, uncovered an alleged fraud scheme targeting members, who saw part of the funds they had set aside over the years stolen through unauthorized withdrawals made by the suspects for purposes unrelated to the fund's interests.
The two suspects are only the latest to be implicated in what investigators believe appears to be a consolidated system that, over the years, has targeted their own co-workers, who found themselves unable to respond promptly to reimbursement requests made upon leaving the workforce.
It appears that a classic Ponzi scheme was implemented: those who left the fund were repaid with the deductions made from newcomers, while on the other hand, the unfaithful administrators unduly drained resources for other purposes.
The financial police of the Nuoro Economic and Financial Police Unit, appointed by the Nuoro Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate the complaint, analyzed the documentation at their disposal and examined the transactions on the bank account held in the fund's name, noting withdrawals, including cash.
The investigative activity is still ongoing to reconstruct the full scope of the events that occurred within the healthcare system.
(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)
