Spanish police have arrested a 37-year-old woman accused of masquerading as a doctor in Colombia and treating hundreds of patients without the proper credentials.
Authorities say that the woman, originally from Colombia, is alleged to have practised medicine without a licence between 2020 and 2023, attending to as many as 655 patients during that period.
On Interpol’s most wanted list, she was arrested in Catarroja, a town in the region of Valencia, in a joint operation with Colombian law enforcement, Spain’s National Police said on X.
‘She posed as a doctor in Colombia, where she treated 665 patients. Colombian authorities were searching for her for impersonation, fraud and document forgery,’ the police said.
According to Spanish and Colombian media, the woman named Catherine amassed significant wealth through the deception. She built a large patient base in Barranquilla in Colombia and even held a position at the Maternal and Children’s Hospital in the nearby city of Soledad, where she treated hundreds of people, including minors, charging substantial fees despite having no formal training.
Investigations indicate she worked in several Colombian health centres over three years before fleeing to Spain with her partner and child. Her bogus career began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she presented a falsified CV claiming over five years of experience as a general practitioner at the Colombian Police Clinic, according to Ok Diario.
Reports also suggest Catherine believed her forged credentials were authentic, claiming she had ‘purchased the degree from a real doctor’. In reality, she had been duped by another fraudster posing as a medical professional.
After tracking her to the Valencia, Colombian investigators enlisted the help of Interpol and Spain’s National Police. The police’s specialised fugitive group eventually located her, despite her frequent address changes to evade capture.
She is expected to appear before Spain’s National Court in the coming days to determine the next steps in her case.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Se hizo pasar por médica en #Colombia donde atendió a 665 pacientes
Las autoridades colombianas la buscaban por usurpación, estafa y falsedad documental y tenía una #RedNotice 🚩por @INTERPOL_HQ
Detenida en #Catarroja #Valencia en una investigación junto a @PoliciaColombia pic.twitter.com/UDvpPnLuID
— Policía Nacional (@policia) August 14, 2025
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.