Justice condemned the owners of a pharmacy in Marília (SP) for defrauding a federal program that subsidizes medicines sold to the population at lower prices. Losses to public coffers amount to R $ 38,4 thousand.

An inspection carried out by the SUS National Audit System to verify the program's execution in the last months of 2009 found that sales were being made in disagreement with the rules. Among the irregularities are falsification of signatures and commercialization of medicines without a prescription.

The owners of the pharmacy were sentenced to two years in prison, but the sentence was converted into service to the community, in addition to a fine of ten minimum wages, in the amount in effect at the time of the facts. They will also have to return the wrongly received money to the federal government.

How it works

The federal program establishes the sale of cheaper drugs to the population in private pharmacies. Consumers pay only a portion of the price and the rest is paid by the government in transfers to partner establishments, according to the prices in a single table.

In order to receive the amounts, merchants must follow a series of requirements, including the collection of signature and personal data from customers in tax coupons and the maintenance of correct information about the drugstore in the Ministry of Health's register.

Source: G1