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In September 2022, President Rodrigo Chaves appointed Marta Esquivel as President of Social Security.
  Photo via Social Security.



Social Security top executives suspended over alleged million-dollar fraud investigation



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Published on Friday, October 11, 2024
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff





The Criminal Court of Treasury ordered on Thursday that Marta Esquivel-Rodriguez, president of Social Security, and four members of the organization be suspended from their duties for six months as part of pre-trial actions related to an investigation into an alleged million-dollar scheme.



The judges approved the request of the Deputy Prosecutor's Office for Probity, Transparency, and Anti-Corruption (FAPTA) for pre-trial actions against Esquivel and the other accused, Camareno, Gómez, Rojas, and Gutiérrez. These individuals served on the Social Security Board of Directors for 17 months, from February 2023 to July 2024.



The judge's instructions for these individuals include a six-month suspension from their roles, a veto to access the Social Security facilities and a prohibition on communicating with witnesses in the investigation.



The five suspects were arrested in September as part of an investigation into an alleged $230 million fraud agreement conspiracy.









The case began when the suspects allegedly annulled one agreement for choosing contractors for managing at least 138 public clinics, known as Ebais.



The Prosecutor's Office investigation found that after allegedly annulling that agreement, the defendants used their board positions to create a new deal to hire some cooperative firms that would benefit from that second contract.



A cooperative business is a group of people who work together to create entrepreneurial activities such as finance, manufacturing and services, among others.



The suspects allegedly changed the agreement to hire the cooperatives. This action despite being aware of a previous study that determined that the cooperative firms' services would result in an annual increase of more than $23 million per year compared with the current cost that Social Security pays to the private companies in charge of the Ebais managing.



Additionally, the Prosecutor is also investigating the agreement businesses' contractual period for ten years.  If that new agreement reached the fulfilled period of ten years, the estimated cost of the alleged fraud against Social Security would be over $230 million.



Recently, President Rodrigo Chaves-Robles complained about the Prosecutor's Office's actions on this case.




In September 2022, Chaves appointed Marta Esquivel as President of Social Security.


The  Social Security (CCSS) is the state-owned organization in charge of most of the nation's public health sector.



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What have you heard about your country's highest-ranking government executives being linked to Public Treasury fraud? 
We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com




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