Nuremberg/Würzburg (dpa/lby) – An outpatient nursing service working in Lower Franconia is said to have collected a good 2.5 million euros from the statutory insurance without justification. The three operators of the service are in custody. This was announced by a spokesman for the Nuremberg Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday. The central office for combating fraud and corruption in the health care system (ZKG) is based at the authority. The “Main-Post” (Friday) reported on the case first.

The accused are accused of only faking services and of having reduced the actual nursing work to a minimum. The crimes are said to have taken place between January 2017 and April 2022 – more than five years.

The investigations started after an anonymous tip was received by the ZKG. The online platform went into operation exactly a year ago to combat fraud in the healthcare sector.

The public prosecutor’s office in Würzburg is investigating allegations of negligent bodily harm and mistreatment of wards. On Thursday there were house searches in Würzburg and Kitzingen, more than 50 police officers were involved. Arrest orders were also carried out. Objects and real estate were seized, the spokesman said. In addition, numerous documents were secured, which are now being evaluated. The operators were arrested and initially remain in custody because of the risk of flight and blackout.

According to “Main-Post”, the reference referred to a senior living group in Kitzingen, for which the nursing service was responsible. People are said to have been badly cared for.