Pharma Fraud

January 21, 2020

Patient Services, Inc., a foundation that operated pharmaceutical patient assistance programs, will pay $3 million to resolve claims that it unlawfully enabled pharmaceutical companies to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients in the form of co-payment assistance for patients who took the companies’ drugs.  PSI was alleged to have worked with the drugmakers to funnel their “contributions” to patients who took the company’s drugs, instead of using the contributions for purposes not tied to specific drugs and patients.  PSI was alleged to have worked with Insys on copayment assistance for Subsys patients; with Aegerion on copayment assistance for Juxtapid patients; and, with Alexion on copayment assistance for Soliris patients.  USAO Mass

December 20, 2019

Florida residents and married couple Rodolfo Pichardo and Marta Pichardo were sentenced to 15 years and 8 years, respectively, following earlier guilty pleas to healthcare fraud and wire fraud.  Defendants were also ordered to pay over $34 million in restitution. The Pichardos ran a network of home health agencies, pharmacies, and therapy staffing companies, that submitted more than $38 million in false claims to Medicare.  Defendants paid kickbacks to patient recruiters and medical clinics for patient referrals.  USAO SD FL

December 20, 2019

Andrew Hillman has been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for his role in a kickback scheme designed to induce doctors to steer patients with good private insurance coverage to Dallas hospital the Forest Park Medical Center.  USAO ND Tex; USAO ND Tex (re: April, 2019 trial)

December 19, 2019

Five individuals have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme to defraud TRICARE through the submission of false and fraudulent claims for compounded prescription pain creams.   Marketing firm Centurion Compounding, Inc., owned by  Frank Monte and Kimberley Anderson, entered into an agreement with LifeCare Pharmacy, owned by Carlos Mazariegos and Benjamin Nundy, to pay kickbacks to Dr. Anthony Baldizzi in exchange for him writing prescriptions for compounded creams marketed by Centurion to TRICARE beneficiaries. LifeCare billed health insurers, including TRICARE, more than $12.4 million for compounded cream prescriptions written by Baldizzi and marketed by Centurion, realizing a profit of more than $10 million, which it shared with Baldizzi, Monte, and Anderson.  Centurion also caused TRICARE to be billed additional fraudulent amounts through one or more other pharmacies.  Monte and Anderson of Centurion were sentenced to 2 years and 1.5 years, respectively, and Monte forfeited more than $3 million in property.  Baldizzi was sentenced to 1 year in prison, ordered to forfeit $100,000, and will surrender his license to practice medicine.  Mazariegos and Nundy of LifeCare were sentenced to 1 year in prison and 5 years probation, respectively, and paid over $12.8 million in restitution and forfeiture.  USAO MD FL

December 3, 2019

In the second settlement to come out of a federal investigation into the generic pharmaceutical industry, Rising Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay over $4 million to settle civil and criminal charges stemming from violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute.  In the criminal case, Rising allegedly teamed up with a competing generic drug manufacturer to fix prices and divide up the market for a hypertension drug, Benazepril HCTZ, while in the civil case, the company allegedly paid and received illegal remuneration through similar arrangements with another generic drug manufacturer.  Under the newly signed deferred prosecution agreement, Rising has agreed to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.  DOJ; USAO EDPA

November 20, 2019

The Assistance Fund, a foundation that provided funds for pharmaceutical patient assistance programs, will pay $4 million to resolve claims that it conspired with three manufacturers of multiple sclerosis drugs, Teva, Biogen, and Novartis, to improperly funnel contributions from those companies to patients purchasing drugs from those companies.  USAO MA

November 20, 2019

Louisville, Kentucky hospital Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare Inc. has agreed to pay $10.1 million to resolve allegations that the hospital, doing business as Pharmacy Plus and Pharmacy Plus Specialty, submitted false claims to Medicare for prescription drugs that did not have the required physician order or proof of delivery, for prescription refills that were not reasonable and necessary, or for prescriptions that otherwise did not meet Medicare coverage requirements.  In addition, defendant was alleged to have violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by providing unlawful remuneration to patients in the form of free blood glucose testing supplies and waiver of co-payments and deductibles for insulin.  The case was initiated by a qui tam complaint filed by pharmacist Robert Stone, who will receive $1.85 million from the settlement.  DOJ

November 15, 2019

Compounding pharmacy Midwest Compounders, Inc., and its owner Troy DeLong, agreed to pay $205,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to Tricare for prescriptions that resulted from unlawful arrangements between the pharmacy and prescribers or marketers, or otherwise overbilled for medically unnecessary dosages or redundant active ingredients.  The allegations were first made in a qui tam case filed by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act.  USAO ND Iowa

November 15, 2019

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Lupin Limited and related entities, together with company executives Vinita Gupta and Robert Hoffman, will pay $63 million to Texas to resolve claims under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Action that they reported inflated drug prices to the state's Medicaid program in order to receive excess reimbursements.  The investigation of Lupin was initiated by a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Expess Med Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  TX