The appeals hearing for Elizabeth Silverio Silien, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for impersonating a psychologist and neuroscientist, has been rescheduled for 25 August 2025. The National District Court of Appeals postponed the hearing at the request of Silverio’s legal counsel, who intends to introduce digital evidence.
As reported in N Digital, Silverio is seeking to overturn the 21 October 2024 conviction by the Third Collegiate Court of the National District. She was found guilty of the illegal practice of medicine at the Knowledge Land (Kogland) Neurocognitive and Psychopedagogical Therapy Center.
The case originated from a complaint filed by the Ministry of Public Health, following an investigative report exclusively published by N Investiga, which exposed Silverio’s fraudulent medical practice.
When issuing the ruling of October 2024, judges Arlin Ventura Jiménez, Leticia Martínez Noboa and Evelyn Rodríguez found Silverio guilty of using forged documents to practice medicine. This violated Article 151 of the Dominican Penal Code concerning the use of false documents, Article 405 regarding fraud, and Article 156, numeral 7 of Law 47-01 (General Health Law), which prohibits the practice of health professions without legal accreditation.
As part of her sentence, Silverio was ordered to be sent to the Najayo Women’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center and to pay RD$2 million in compensation to the nine recognized victims who acted as plaintiffs and civil parties. Additionally, she was ordered to cover the criminal and civil costs for the victims’ legal representation.
Silverio currently remains out of jail because Dominican law allows for an appeal before immediate imprisonment, which she is pursuing. At the time of her sentencing, she was out on probation. The court’s ruling also mandated the confiscation and destruction of the falsified degrees, uniforms, and rubber stamps Silverio used to support her fraudulent practice at Kogland.
Silverio was so successful in posing as an expert with major studies in autism that she was consulted by legislators who were preparing the law on autism.
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N Digital
Noticias SIN
8 July 2025