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A review of permanent disability status uncovered a possible long-term fraud against the Spanish Social Security system, committed by a woman who faked being deaf for some or all of the 16 years she was receiving support. The Andalusian High Court of Justice has now withdrawn the benefit.
The woman was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder after she was assaulted by a customer while working as a cashier in a supermarket in 2003. As a result, she was approved for a full permanent disability pension.
In 2019, the Social Security in Cadiz initiated a review of the degree of disability, in which the national institution collaborated with the Mutua Maz insurance company. It was then discovered that the woman was not affected by permanent disability "in any of its degrees".
A year earlier, the woman had been examined by the company's doctor and its psychiatrist, both of whom suspected that she was simulating "disproportionate" mutism. The professionals found it odd that she did not try to communicate verbally or through gestures when entering the consultation or when leaving. In addition, suspicions grew when they determined that she had not gone to any mental health specialists between 2003 and 2020.
Mutua Maz hired a private detective, who found that the woman was sharing her zumba practices on social media, commenting (verbally and in writing) under the pseudonym 'Genoveva'. Her actions did not correspond to the disabilities she was claiming to have. During the two days of monitoring, the detective also found that she had no issues interacting with the people around her, even through conversation, and that she was talking with other mothers at her daughter's school, as well as with different people on the phone. She even conversed with strangers - something that the detective discovered when he asked her to point him in the direction of El Corte Inglés.
The ruling stated that the woman "displays an atypical case of mutism, with occasional 'slips' of words when confronted and without knowing how to act. When asked to sit down, she behaves as if she doesn’t know how, but when told that, if she's not feeling well she can leave, she knows perfectly well how to get up, open the door, and ask for her companion to come so they can leave... she even whispers 'thank you' as she exits".
The court determined that what was initially recognised as severe post-traumatic stress disorder had evolved favourably until its disappearance, or had been simulated from the outset for the purpose of receiving the pension. Therefore, the ruling rejected the appeal lodged by the woman against a previous decision of the social court in Cadiz, which had already confirmed that the pension was not justified anymore. In addition, the court ruled that the facts should be brought before the corresponding examining court as they could constitute a crime of Social Security fraud, which punishes those who obtain public benefits illegally.
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