Mexico City authorities investigate doctors who sold false death certificates amid the COVID-19 pandemic

On June 5, Mexico City officials revealed prosecutors are investigating several doctors who allegedly issued false death certificates for people who may have died of COVID-19.

As deaths increase in Mexico, the need to quickly dispose of corpses has apparently led to a black market in death certificates. Mexico reported 625 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths on June 5. In recent weeks, the country has been registering over 4,000 confirmed cases each day, and the total stands at 117,103, although officials acknowledge the real number is much higher.

In describing the investigation, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum alleged the doctors “were involved in charging for these services,” even though death certificates are supposed to be free but the process to obtain them can sometimes be lengthy and bureaucratic.

“They sold these certificates when they should not have,” Sheinbaum said.

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The scheme purportedly involved at least one city government employee and around 10 doctors , none of whom were city hospital employees, the mayor said.

There are also indications the doctors may have signed off causes of death other than COVID-19 for bodies they had never seen or examined, though the reasons were unclear, officials said.

Mexico City authorities are now investigating at least 500 death certificates . According to the lawsuit filed by Mexico City health authorities, the found irregularities in many death certificates and another 500 documents were stolen in January.

For months, bodies had been piling up at hospitals in Mexico City as the pandemic worsened, and some relatives may have simply wanted to get their deceased family members released more quickly. Also, bodies of people who died from COVID-19 have to be cremated or buried under stricter rules so some families may have paid for a false certificate to avoid that or the social stigma the virus carries. Furthermore, teetering piles of discarded coffins have piled up outside Mexico City’s overworked crematoriums .

No charges have been pressed against the doctors yet.

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