Shanghai woman claims multiple miscarriages, forges document to claim medical insurance
Shanghai woman claims multiple miscarriages, forges document to claim medical insurance
A 42-year-old woman in Shanghai, identified by her surname Xie, has been convicted of fraud after forging medical documents to claim over 66,000 yuan (approximately Rs 7.78 lakh) in maternity insurance. Despite earning a substantial monthly salary of over 30,000 yuan (around Rs 3.5 lakh) while working for a foreign company, Xie engaged in this fraudulent activity, recalling a successful insurance claim she had made after a miscarriage two years earlier.
In December of last year, Xie began submitting fake documents, including a fabricated maternity certificate and discharge summary, using computer software. These documents were submitted through China’s online insurance system, which is designed to simplify claims but has been exploited by those with technical skills to manipulate digital documents, as reported by Shanghai TV.
Xie successfully submitted two fraudulent claims and received a total of 66,200 yuan in maternity benefits. To cover her tracks, she deleted all physical and digital evidence of her fraudulent activities after each successful claim. Her deception started to unravel when she attempted to file another false claim earlier this year, seeking over 40,000 yuan (approximately US$5,600). The claim was denied, and further investigation revealed inconsistencies in five insurance claims she had submitted over the past four years.
This led to an official investigation, and in February, Xie voluntarily turned herself in and returned all the fraudulently obtained funds. She expressed regret for her actions, explaining that as an older pregnant woman with health concerns, she feared medical expenses and acted out of desperation. “I deeply regret what I have done,” she stated, adding that she had resigned from her job.
On August 16, Xie was found guilty of fraud. However, the court handed down a relatively lenient sentence of a one-and-a-half-year suspended jail term, citing her voluntary confession and cooperation during the investigation as mitigating factors.
