DIICOT dismantles network of unauthorised care facilities in Bihor. Over 400 deaths in 6 years
DIICOT prosecutors conducted dozens of raids in Bihor, dismantling a criminal group that illegally housed hundreds of vulnerable people and extorted millions of lei through fraud.
DIICOT dismantles network of unauthorised care facilities in Bihor. Over 400 deaths in 6 years
On Tuesday, a large-scale operation by law enforcement targeted multiple properties in Bihor county. Prosecutors from the organised crime unit put an end to the activities of a criminal group led by a local businessman, suspected of keeping hundreds of people in inhumane conditions under the guise of charitable services.
The head of the network is Viorel Pașca, a Bihor resident who, for nearly 20 years, gathered people without relatives in 17 private houses. All operated as care facilities, although nothing was authorised as a social service. Victims ended up there sent by state institutions, by ambulances or police vehicles.
According to investigators, the organisation took shape in 2020 and had four core members, assisted by seven other people. They allegedly housed individuals with serious mental health problems, incapable of protecting their own interests, keeping them in a state of total subordination.
The group used a humanitarian association as a front. In this way, they obtained money from donations and sponsorships, as well as from pensions and disability allowances of those interned. The loss calculated by DIICOT amounts to 13 million lei.
Conditions were disastrous. People did not receive adequate medical care, were not continuously monitored, and treatments were administered by untrained staff, who recognised medicines by the colour of the packaging.
The most distressing revelation: in the past six years, over 400 people died in these dwellings. The bodies allegedly were buried near a Greek Catholic cemetery, and death allowances were cashed in by the group.
During the raids, law enforcement officers required the assistance of doctors, carers and psychologists to manage the situation of the victims. The Minister of Labour, Dragoș Pîslaru, acknowledged that he knew of Pașca's activities since 2016, but the latter systematically refused to legalise them.
Source: Digi24
Source: Digi24