Prosecutor accuses former secretary of Goiânia of fraud.
Elias Rassi Neto, former Secretary of Health for the capital city, is among the four indicted by the Public Prosecutor's Office for fraud in a scheme involving the Health Department and the Santa Casa de Mesicórdia hospital. Jader Silva Cabral, former superintendent of the private hospital, was indicted for embezzlement. Elias was indicted for waiving bidding procedures in a process that involved the transfer of R$ 900 from the department to the hospital, funds intended for the purchase of hospital supplies.
MP-GO_ Prosecutors Denis Augusto Bimbati Marques, Luís Guilherme Martinhão Gimenes, and Juan Borges de Abreu, from the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), filed charges this Wednesday (August 21st) against four individuals involved in the embezzlement of funds at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Goiânia hospital between June 2010 and April 2012. Among the accused are the former municipal health secretary of Goiânia, Elias Rassi Neto, and the former director of the hospital, Sérgio Antônio Machado.
As detailed in the complaint, Jader Silva Cabral served as the hospital's financial supervisor between 2004 and 2011, being responsible for controlling the institution's cash flow. An investigation by the MP-GO (Public Prosecutor's Office of Goiás) found that Jader Cabral used his position to misappropriate R$ 167.265,00 from the cash on numerous occasions, related to the contracting of services for private patients, such as consultations and examinations.
In an attempt to disguise the embezzlement, he justified the misappropriations by claiming to have canceled invoices issued by Santa Casa and "refunds" the amounts. He stated that the money was returned to individuals who had cancelled the contracted services, a claim that proved to be false. He allegedly operated between June 7, 2010, and October 3, 2011.
On the other hand, from August 2011 to April 2012, Sérgio Norio Nakamura, at the time simultaneously planning advisor for the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Goiânia and the Municipal Health Secretariat (SMS), mediated the signing of an agreement that provided for the transfer of R$ 900 from the SMS to the hospital, which is private. The agreement was signed by the then director of Santa Casa, Sérgio Antônio Machado, and the former municipal health secretary, Elias Rassi Neto, "...to support teaching and service projects in the Northwest Region in accordance with the operational plan".
Based on this forecast, it was determined that the actual transfer of the amount of R$ 900, previously agreed upon with the managers, was indicated by Sérgio Nakamura for the purchase, by Santa Casa, of hospital materials acquired without a bidding process and which were subsequently sent to the SMS warehouse.
Denounced
The following were reported:
- Jader Silva Cabral: for the crime of misappropriation - article 168, paragraph 1, item III, combined with article 71, caput, both of the Penal Code. The penalty foreseen is imprisonment for 1 to 4 years, and a fine;
- Elias Rassi, Sérgio Antônio Machado and Sérgio Nakamura: for dispensing with or failing to require bidding outside the cases provided for by law - article 89 of Law No. 8.666/93 (Bidding Law) combined with article 84, paragraph 2, of the same law and article 71, caput, of the Penal Code. The penalty provided for is imprisonment for 3 to 5 years, and a fine.
Prosecutor Denis Bimbati, coordinator of Gaeco, stated that it is regrettable that health institutions are used to commit crimes. Furthermore, he criticized the fact that crimes such as bid-rigging are only punished with imprisonment.
He recalls Operation Biopsy, launched by the MP-GO (Public Prosecutor's Office of Goiás) in February 2012, which investigated the misappropriation of public funds at the Association for the Fight Against Cancer in Goiás (ACCG), similar to what is happening now at Santa Casa.
A copy of the complaint was sent to the Center for Operational Support of Public Assets and to the Comptroller General of the Municipality for investigation within the scope of their respective responsibilities. The entire investigation was conducted by the Gaeco (Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime) with the support of the Center for Institutional Security and Intelligence (CSI) of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Goiás.