The main role in deceiving 30,000 victims was played by telephone operators, including 10 detained in Moldova, who posed as doctors and persuaded clients to refuse real treatment, reports rupor.md.
Officers of the INI Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and PCCOCS prosecutors during Operation Wolf of Everad dismantled a network of operators that was part of a large-scale criminal scheme to sell counterfeit medicines and dietary supplements. Joint operations were conducted in 15 countries, including Romania, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, under the coordination of Eurojust and Europol, and the searches involved 113 locations.
The fraudsters used artificial intelligence to create advertisements where famous personalities in medicine allegedly recommended products to treat diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The advertisements illegally used the logos of well-known pharmaceutical companies, and the products themselves had no therapeutic effect.
In Moldova, 10 people aged 19 to 33 from Chisinau, Novi Aneni, Falesti, Floresti, Ialoven and Glodeni came under investigation. Eight men and two women worked as telephone operators at home, speaking Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, English and Bulgarian. They falsely posed as doctors and pharmacists, convincing victims to make purchases and interrupt medically prescribed courses of treatment.
Digital devices containing evidence were seized from the suspects; due to their cooperation with the investigation, the suspects remain at large under the presumption of innocence.
