The owner of Patient’s Pharmacy & Infusion has been arrested for allegedly defrauding Medicaid of almost $600,000. The owner is accused of submitting false claims to Medicaid for prescription medicines that were never dispensed. The pharmacy owner is charged with one count of first degree Medicaid fraud. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison and more than $2.9 million in fines. The arrest came after an investigation by the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). It appears that the pharmacy owner was caught in a classic investigation technique. According to the government, the volume of medicines allegedly dispensed did not match up with invoices for the amount of medicines actually purchased. Comparing dispensing data with purchasing data has become an important tool for Medicaid fraud investigators throughout the country, especially in investigations into pharmacists, pharmacies, and durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies. MFCU investigators often obtain purchasing data from wholesalers and other suppliers before the pharmacists know they are under investigation. They then compare the amount of drugs purchased with the amount of drugs allegedly dispensed to determine if the pharmacy is seeking reimbursement for more drugs than it purchased. If you are under investigation for Medicaid fraud or have been charged with a crime, you should know that the government has tremendous resources on its side. You should consult with an experienced Medicare and Medicaid fraud defense attorney immediately to protect your rights. To arrange a free and confidential initial consultation, call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728 or click here to reach our law offices via email. John Howley, Esq. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact our law offices and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. I practice law and offer legal services only in jurisdictions where I am properly authorized to do so. I do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this web site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules.
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The owner of a durable medical equipment (DME) supply company was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison for conspiring to submit nearly $1 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. In addition to his prison term, the DME supply company owner will serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $653,461 in restitution. The owner of the company pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary power wheelchairs. He also admitted that he paid kickbacks to medical clinics for fraudulent prescriptions and other medical documentation to support the power wheelchair claims that he billed to Medicare. If you are under investigation or have been charged with Medicare or Medicaid fraud, then you should consult with an experienced criminal defense lawyer who understands these complex programs. Call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728 or click here to reach our office via email. The initial consultation is free and completely confidential. John Howley, Esq. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact our law offices and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. I practice law and offer legal services only in jurisdictions where I am properly authorized to do so. I do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this web site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules. The owners of hyperbaric oxygen therapy companies pleaded guilty to submitting false claims for physician supervision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) services. HBOT is an outpatient therapy used to assist in healing diabetic sores or amputations. The HBOT process is administered by placing the patient in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to receive increased levels of oxygen. Physicians were employed by the defendants’ companies to supervise HBOT sessions, ensure that HBOT was medically appropriate for the patients, and handle any medical emergency that may arise during treatment. The defendants admitted that they submitted false claims to Medicare by billing multiple times for physician supervision on days when the physician supervised only one HBOT session. Each of the defendants faces up to five years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000, plus restitution of the amounts paid by Medicare. Medicare fraud can result in very harsh penalties. If you are under investigation or charged with a crime, you should consult a criminal defense attorney who has experience with Medicare and Medicaid fraud charges. Call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728 or click here to reach our office via email. The initial consultation is free and completely confidential. John Howley, Esq. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact our law offices and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. I practice law and offer legal services only in jurisdictions where I am properly authorized to do so. I do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this web site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules. Government Alleges PharMerica Billed Medicare for Controlled Substances That Were Dispensed Without a Valid Prescription The United States Government has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against PharMerica Corp. That alleges the company caused flase claims to be submitted to Medicare. If the government wins the lawsuit, the whistleblower will be entitled to a reward of between 15% and 25% of the amount the government recovers. The complaint alleges that PharMerica violated the Controlled Substances Act by dispensing narcotics without valid prescriptions. The complaint also alleges that PharMerica violated the False Claims Act by causing claims for illegally dispensed drugs to be submitted to the Medicare program. PharMerica is a pharmacy that dispenses drugs to residents of nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and other long-term care facilities. The company fills approximately 40 million prescriptions every year. Many of the prescriptions are for controlled substances listed in Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act, such as oxycodone and fentanyl. Pharmacies are prohibited from dispensing oxycodone, fentanyl, and other Schedule II narcotics without a valid prescription from a physician. According to the complaint, PharMerica allowed nursing home staff to order narcotics, and allowed pharmacists to dispense narcotics without confirming that a physician had issues a valid prescription based on medical necessity. The lawsuit was started by a former PharMerica employee named Jennifer Denk. Ms. Denk filed a whistleblower complaint against PharMerica “under seal” (in secret) and presented her evidence to the government, also in secret. After conducting an investigation, the government decided to join the lawsuit. Only then was the case “unsealed” and made public. This is the standard procedure for filing a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act. In return for helping the government stop Medicare fraud, the whistleblower is entitled to protection from retaliation and a monetary reward of between 15% and 25% of the amount the government recovers. If you are aware of false claims submitted to Medicare or Medicaid, then you should consult with an experienced whistleblower attorney. You may be entitled to a substantial reward and legal protections as a whistleblower. To arrange a free and completely confidential consultation, call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728, or click here to reach our law offices via email. John Howley, Esq. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact our law offices and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. I practice law and offer legal services only in jurisdictions where I am properly authorized to do so. I do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this web site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules. An internist on Long Island was arrested for illegally selling prescriptions for the narcotic medication oxycodone. The government alleges that the doctor had both a legitimate and illegal practice in his medical offices: Real patients were charged $110 for an office visit. Drug users and addicts were charged $250 or more for an office visit that included a prescription for a controlled substance such as oxycodone. Two patients who cooperated with the government’s investigation were charged $250 by the doctor to receive prescriptions for oxycodone. The doctor allegedly did not conduct physical examinations of these patients or even question them about their need for the medication. After learning of the allegedly false prescriptions, investigators from the New York State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) executed a search warrant at the doctor’s offices. The doctor was arrested and charged with two counts of Criminal Sale of a Prescription for a Controlled Substance in violation of New York Penal Law § 220.65. These are Class C felony charges. If convicted, the doctor faces up to 15 years in prison on each count. He also faces loss of his medical license, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid program, and other consequences. If you are under investigation or have been charged with diversion of a controlled substance, then you need to consult with an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately. Call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728 or click here to reach our office by email. The initial consultation is free and completely confidential. John Howley, Esq. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact our law offices and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. I practice law and offer legal services only in jurisdictions where I am properly authorized to do so. I do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this web site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules.
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John Howley, Esq.
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