SANTO DOMINGO.- Dominican and American intelligence agencies are investigating the an organization that may have stolen thousands of dollars from Dominican doctors by luring them with the promise of a work contract at a private clinic in the United States, which later turns out to be a fraud, the paper El Nacional said Monday.

About 50 young doctors from many different medical fields and regions have come forward saying that they paid more than US$2,500 in cash to people who they believed were American lawyers in exchange for an HI-B work visa and admission to the program, the newspaper said.

Authorities believe the fraud is directed by two women and a man, who may own clinics in the state of Pennsylvania. Candidates for the work program are asked to present university certificates and work references and occasionally have to pay extra money for English courses and “professional evaluations,” the newspaper said.

The paper quoted a source as saying the investigation would focus on a potential Mafia connection to the fraud.