Spanish Police have arrested a woman accused of posing as a doctor in Colombia and of treating hundreds of patients without a licence.
Catherine, a 37-year-old Colombian woman, posed as a doctor in her native country from 2020 to 2023, treating up to a staggering 655 patients.
The woman, who was on Interpol’s most wanted list, was detained in the town of Catarroja, in the eastern region of Valencia, during a joint operation with Colombian authorities, Spain’s National Police said on X.
‘She posed as a doctor in Colombia, where she treated 665 patients. Colombian authorities were searching for her for impersonation, fraud, and document forgery,’ the police stated.
According to local reports, Catherine had amassed a huge fortune thanks to her scandalous deception.
The fake doctor had a large patient list in Barranquilla, Colombia, and even worked at the Maternal and Child Hospital in the city of Soledad.
It was there she treated several hundreds of patients, including minors, and charged large sums of money to her patients without any training.
She had reportedly worked at several other health facilities in Colombia for three years before fleeing to Spain, where she lived with her partner and child.
Catherine began her false medical practice during the Covid19 pandemic, when she showed up at the Colombian Police Clinic with a fake resume as a general practitioner and more than five years of experience, reports Ok Diario.
From there, she moved to the Maternal and Child hospital, further adding to her resume and career portfolio.
It has also been reported that Catherine had believed her false documentation was real as she had ‘purchased the degree from a real doctor’.
However, it has been revealed that she had also been scammed by a con artist who was not a real medical professional.
Colombian agents located Catherine after she fled in the Valencian Community and requested assistance from Interpol and the Spanish National Police.
It was finally the National Police’s Fugitive Group that managed to track her down.
The fake doctor, who lived in Valencia with her husband and son, had kept changing addresses to avoid being found.
She will soon be handed over to the National Court to decide her fate in the coming days.
