Medical rep cleared of misappropriation and fraud

A court has cleared a medical representative, charged with misappropriation and fraud, after it held that insufficient evidence had been brought before it to prove the accusations - despite his multiple previous convictions for fraud.

Pierre Buontempo, 46 of Gwardamangia, had been charged with misappropriation to the detriment of Charles Degiorgio Ltd and with having embezzled around €100.00 from the Government of Malta.

In 2010, the Ministry of Health had informed the police that patients at Mater Dei Hospital were being charged for a therapy which helped speed up the healing of wounds in amputation cases, by placing maggots in the wound to consume dead tissue.

Buontempo - who was originally employed on a part-time basis as a labelling clerk - had been a medical representative for importer Charles Degiorgio Ltd, which had been given a direct order to provide this therapy from Mater Dei.

The hospital had started providing the therapy on a trial basis but had discontinued the practise because the procedure was still being tested. Complications arose in the tendering process for the provision of this therapy, when it was discovered that Buontempo had been supplying a competing company with bid prices.

Buontempo’s employment had been terminated after the company had alleged that he had claimed to be a doctor in order to be given free parking facilities, access cards to wards as well as a free hepatitis injection, whilst performing his duties at Mater Dei. In addition, his former employer claimed that he had misappropriated some payments due to the company for the maggot therapy provided.  

The health authorities had asked the police to investigate.

During the court proceedings, it emerged that Buontempo had resigned his post as salesman with Charles Degiorgio Company Limited the day that the company's managing director insisted that he produce his graduation certificates.

The company’s managing director David Stellini had testified that he had also been duped into believing Buontempo's stories, before he had confronted him to produce originals of the certificates he claimed to have earned.

A police investigation had established that he had allegedly swindled vulnerable patients out of thousands of euros by charging them for a specialised therapy which was not provided by the state.

A separate report published by the Health Ministry, following an internal investigation, revealed that Buontempo had allegedly charged patients up to €1,000 for VAC therapy.

The apparent misappropriation had come to light after a patient had turned up at the ministry with an invoice expecting to be reimbursed for the VAC therapy - a technique also known as negative pressure wound therapy - which he received at Mater Dei. Buontempo was charged with misappropriation and fraud.

Buontempo, however, refuted these allegations and showed that his employment had not been terminated. He claimed that the allegations had been made due to the fact that he had started working with a competitor of Charles Degiorgio Ltd.

It emerged that the parking facilities were required in order to facilitate the delivery of the maggots to hospital and that hospital documents referred to him using the title “Mr.” which the court felt contradicted his previous employer’s accusations that he had tried to pass himself off as a doctor.

But this morning, a magistrate  cleared Buontempo of the charges, declaring that it had not been proven that Buontempo had misappropriated payments which were meant for his employer. Neither had it been proven that any of the company’s stocks had been used, held the court. The Court was also not satisfied with the evidence that the accused had used fraudulent measures to induce the health authorities to give him a hepatitis vaccine injection free of charge.

Lawyer Joe Giglio defended Buontempo.