Doctor tried in correctional court in Nîmes for fraud involving gastric injections, defense lawyer denies all offenses

This Friday, December 20, the case must be examined by the court. Here, Mr. Barnouin and Mr. Scherrer, lawyers for the civil party and the defense. HOCINE ROUAGDIA

Me Scherrer et Me Chamsky en amont du procès.

The deputy prosecutor of the Republic of Nîmes will bring the charge. HOCINE ROUAGDIA

Me Baptiste Scherrer, the defense attorney. HOCINE ROUAGDIA

Injections of hyaluronic acid into the stomachs of overweight or obese patients are the subject of a trial this Friday, December 20 before the criminal court. The doctor is being prosecuted for fraud in particular. Me Scherrer, the defense attorney, indicates that he will contest the charges point by point.

The case of the gastroenterologist tried for fraud at the CPAM du Gard will be judged this Friday, December 20 before the criminal court of Nîmes. He is accused of having injected hyaluronic acid into the stomachs of obese or overweight patients in order to make them lose weight. The investigation and the instruction lasted nearly 8 years. This is an emblematic public health case that led to the identification of several dozen victims.

Several problems arose with regard to the primary health insurance fund because the procedures were billed as gastroscopies to the social organization.

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In addition, the hyaluronic acid injection protocol was not a protocol validated by the health and medical authorities. Questioned this Wednesday, Me Baptiste Scherrer, the doctor's lawyer, indicated that he will contest the charges in the case point by point.

He believes that his client did not hear in his requests for acts during the investigation procedure. The criminal lawyer displays his combativeness to dismantle the charges in the case and to allow the innocence of his client to emerge, whose professional and medical qualities he emphasizes. Several civil parties including Social Security will be present at this trial.

This Friday morning, the court is examining another file before taking on the case that generated the travel of several civil parties represented in particular by Mes Christian Barnouin, Laurence Jacques, Anaïs Lopes, Pauline Garcia, Coralie Gay, Stanislas Chamsky, Hélène Mordacq, Laurence Bourgeon. The number of victims listed in the criminal court's role is spread over 20 pages, this represents dozens of people.

Tried for fraud, deception, forgery

The accusation will be brought by Nathalie Welte, the deputy public prosecutor of Nîmes. The doctor is accused of fraud, deception on a service provision resulting in a danger to health, forgery, modification of data resulting from fraudulent access to an automated processing system.

9:50. The doctor has just been called to the stand by President Perez. The judge specifies that the hyaluronic acid injection treatment protocol was not recognized by science, he reminds that the doctor is also being tried for having carried out research without having obtained authorization.

The president reminds that the doctor injected hyaluronic acid into the upper part of the stomach. The doctor responds that obesity kills 70,000 people per year. “During the examination, when patients asked me, I injected hyaluronic acid (…) The idea was to cause a bulge in the stomach to reproduce a gastric ring, then the hyaluronic acid was naturally reabsorbed.”

“You have attracted the wrath of everyone, the CPAM, the ARS, victims, the medical board, how do you explain that ?”

“Out of opportunism, we explained to them that they had to file a complaint,” the doctor replied.

A patient ends up in the emergency room of the Nîmes University Hospital

The president reads an anonymous letter addressed by a patient to the director of the Grand Sud polyclinic. The letter concerns the excess fees and the complications that led the patient to end up in the Nîmes emergency room after the onset of pain. She explains that not only did she not lose weight but she also suffered from pain and that the billing sent to the CPAM was not compliant.

Another patient comes to the stand and explains that she suffered serious complications and “lost her stomach”. She indicates that she had pain and that the doctor initially prescribed Spasfon for her. She says that she did not receive a report. She adds that she no longer has confidence in the medical profession. The doctor is called to respond. “I was in the recommendations of the High Authority of Health (HAS), I proposed the possibilities of the different therapeutic options”.

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