Prosecutors To Investigate Fake Italian Plastic Surgeon In Bucharest

According to a report published in the newspaper Libertatea, Italian citizen Matteo Politi performed plastic surgeries on dozens of people at several private clinics in the past year, despite not having a degree in medicine and lacking a license to practice throughout Romania.

The suspect only graduated middle school, and was previously sentenced to prison in Italy after a similar case, in which he falsely claimed to be a medic related to a famous Italian cardiologist with the same last name.

Following the report, prosecutors from the Bucharest Sector 1 Court opened an in rem criminal investigation into the situation, after they were notified by the Romanian College of Physicians.

The College of Physicians announced on Tuesday that it did not grant the Italian citizen any documents which would allow him to practice medicine in the country.

Health Minister Sorina Pintea also announced a Government investigation into the case, to determine how the fraudster was allowed to perform surgeries. She specified that the ministry did not grant the fake surgeon an equivalence statement for any medical diplomas, though he had filed for one through a lawyer and was rejected due for lacking several necessary documents.

The Monza Group, an Italian chain of private medical clinics present in Romania, announced that Politi performed a surgery in one of their clinics in December 2018. The medical firm stated that he presented a doctor’s seal granted by the Bucharest Public Health Directorate.

“No other patient of the Monza Group was consulted or subjected to surgery by Mateo Politi. The entire Monza Group Romania Team will collaborate closely with all institutions involved in the investigation pertaining to this case,” the group announced in a statement.

According to the report, the suspect also performed plastic surgeries at clinics belonging to Euromedical, Prestige and MH Medical group.