Costa Rican prosecutors say fake nuns ran false charity clinics, abused novices and gave poor care

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Prosecutors in Costa Rica said Tuesday they have arrested a man and four women who posed as nuns to accept donations for false charity clinics, but used some of the money for trips and other purchases.

Randall Zúñiga, the head of the Central American country’s judicial investigative agency, said the five claimed to represent a missionary order of nuns, and that they recruited and abused novices.

The novices weren't paid, never were able to take their vows as nuns, and were sometimes forced to dress up as medical personnel to fool authorities, who gave the charity government money.

Prosecutors said the women took about $12 million in funds from government agencies over at least five years, money that was meant to support their health care and shelter operations. But some people in their care were found not have received proper treatment or attention and had to be hospitalized.

The scheme was uncovered when some of the novices went to police.

The five suspects face charges of embezzlement, misuse of funds, labor exploitation and torture. There was no phone number listed for the organization.

In a long-dormant Facebook page, the group said it was “a non-profit NGO founded in 1991 to serve people with special physical or intellectual needs.”

It apparently ran two care homes in provincial Costa Rica for children and the elderly, which were known as the “Open Hands Homes.”