Six defendants have been sentenced for their respective roles in an $8 million healthcare fraud scheme involving kickbacks and illegal billing, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Mohamed Abdalla, 48, the owner of multiple pharmacies in northern Virginia, oversaw and executed two fraud schemes, according to prosecutors. One involved the payment of unlawful kickbacks for expensive drugs, and the other involved improperly billing government insurers.
Prosecutors said from January 2014 to the end of 2018, Mr. Abdalla and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks for the referral of prescription medications and an expensive naloxone auto-injector. Prosecutors said he improperly obtained $2 million from the scheme.
Additionally, Mr. Abdalla and his co-conspirators billed for prescriptions in the names of themselves, family members, and other pharmacy employees for drugs and devices that were not medically necessary, not prescribed by a physician or not received by the patient. This resulted in improper payments of $6.2 million, according to an April 16 news release from the Justice Department.
Mr. Abdalla was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the fraud. Five other defendants have pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their involvement in the same schemes, including:
- Onkur Lal, 30, who worked for Mr. Abdalla as a pharmacy technician and pharmacy intern before ultimately working as a licensed pharmacist, was sentenced to three years in prison.
- Mohammed Tariq Amin, 35, worked for Mr. Abdalla as a pharmacy technician and was the general manager of one of the Virginia pharmacies for almost two years. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Daniel Tyler Walker, 51, worked as a sales specialist for a pharmaceutical company and marketed the expensive naloxone auto-injector device. He received a 15-month prison sentence.
- Seth Michael Myers, 53, conspired with Mr. Abdalla and a physician to accept kickbacks for the referral of expensive compounded medications. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
- Michael Beatty, 53, worked as a licensed pharmacist in Maryland and conspired with Mr. Myers to pay kickbacks for the referral of compound medications. Mr. Beatty was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
Access the full April 16 news release here.