Finnish court acquits woman accused of faking severe illness for insurance benefits

A district court in Finland has ruled that Sofia Tuomi is not guilty of aggravated fraud after being accused by insurance company Fennia of feigning a serious medical condition for years, reports Yle’s MOT investigative program.

The Kanta-Häme District Court dismissed all charges against Tuomi, finding that she was lawfully entitled to the disability benefits Fennia had withdrawn. The insurer had demanded over €100,000 in repayments for allegedly fraudulent compensation.

Tuomi was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in 2017 after a workplace fall damaged her hip. Fennia initially approved accident pension payments but later deployed private investigators to surveil her. Based on their findings, the company terminated her benefits in 2020, claiming she had misrepresented her condition.

The court determined that Fennia failed to prove Tuomi’s work capacity had improved without her spinal stimulator—a treatment carrying paralysis risks, according to medical experts. While the court noted Tuomi had a duty to correct any misleading impressions about her total dependence on assistance, it found no evidence she was capable of work or had obtained unjust financial gain.

Investigators secretly filmed Tuomi for months, with Fennia arguing the footage proved her functionality exceeded her claims. However, the court criticized the insurer’s outsized role in gathering evidence, stating Fennia had “significantly more resources” to build its case than Tuomi had to defend herself.

Tuomi was previously cleared in 2022 when prosecutors found insufficient evidence of deliberate deception, but Fennia’s appeal led the Deputy Prosecutor General to order charges. The district court’s ruling is not yet final and may be appealed.

Yle’s MOT has extensively covered the case, including Fennia’s use of controversial investigative tactics, such as posing as potential homebuyers or thrift-store customers to record subjects.