359 Medical Visits, 3000 Zolpidem Pills... The Identity of the Woman Who Stole Someone Else's ID Number

[Financial News] A woman in her 30s who used someone else's resident registration number to receive hundreds of hospital treatments and administered thousands of zolpidem pills was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 5 (Judge Yang Jin-ho) sentenced Na Mo (37), who was indicted on charges of fraud and violations of the Resident Registration Act and the National Health Insurance Act, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension. She was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and attend 40 hours of drug treatment lectures.
According to the judgment, Na used the name and resident registration number of Lee Mo, whom she met at Hospital A in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, from 2015 to March last year, to receive 359 treatments and prescriptions. The medical expenses incurred, amounting to about 4.42 million won, were paid by the National Health Insurance Corporation as insurance benefits to the hospital and pharmacy.
Na was found to have used the prescriptions issued to purchase and administer 3,077 pills of psychotropic drugs containing zolpidem (such as Stilnox and Zolpid) 70 times from April 2019 to October 2023. Additionally, it was confirmed that she purchased and administered 1,182 pills of zolpidem-containing drugs 75 times from December 2017 to March last year.
The court stated, "Considering the method and content of the crime, the responsibility is not light, and the defendant's crime seems to be due to addiction," but also noted, "However, the amount defrauded is not large, and the defendant acknowledges the crime," explaining the reason for the sentencing. 

yesji@fnnews.com Kim Yeji Reporter