Salta deputy accused in disability pension fraud scheme

Federal prosecutor Carlos Amad has formally charged nine individuals, including provincial deputy and former mayor Francisco Gerardo Orellana, for participating in a criminal organization dedicated to pension fraud.

The group is accused of falsifying documentation to secure non-contributory disability pensions in the Anta department of Salta, specifically in the localities of El Quebrachal and Joaquín V. González. In these areas, over 15 percent of the population—totaling 4,305 people in the department alone—are beneficiaries of such pensions.

According to the prosecution, the organization targeted highly vulnerable individuals, charging them fees for processing applications. Victims reportedly sold livestock or took out loans to pay these costs. The scheme allegedly involved denying patients medical care at public hospitals to force them into private clinics, where fraudulent certificates for non-existent conditions, such as Chagas disease or diabetes, were issued to secure benefits.