Puerto Vallarta coroner and detective charged with falsifying death certificate in life insurance fraud

A coroner from the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences (IJCF) in Puerto Vallarta was removed from his duties and charged with abuse of power in life insurance fraud scheme.

The State Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported that on June 24, the forensic doctor Alberto "N" and the investigative police officer of the State Prosecutor's Office, Gerardo "N", were criminally charged for events that occurred on June 26, 2019, when they falsely reported the accidental death of a person.

Then the forensic doctor was in charge of performing the autopsy of the deceased person, however, when they tried to collect the life insurance, irregularities were noticed, so the incident was reported to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Fight against Corruption.

Derived from the investigations, it was proven that there was no such death, so the IJCF doctor and the detective were charged with the crime of abuse of authority.

In a hearing held this Wednesday, the Judge of Control and Orality of District Eight based in Puerto Vallarta, Luis Daniel Canales, ruled that it was feasible for Alberto "N" to access this benefit established in the National Code of Criminal Procedures.

However, within this determination, it was agreed that he will be disqualified from working as a public servant in any government order in the state of Jalisco.

He will also have to comply with the following conditions imposed by the judge during the next six months: must appear each month before the judge (probation), reside in a certain place; do not approach and do not disturb witnesses to the incident, and provide between five and seven hours of community service each month in the medical services of the Puerto Vallarta DIF.

Likewise, he will have to comply with the damage repair plan consisting of the payment of $7,500 pesos ($375 dollars) to the Child Nutrition Agency.