A medical marketer was convicted by a federal jury in Texas for his role in a $55 million scheme that defrauded Tricare and other federal healthcare programs.
Quintan Cockerell, 42, of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., worked with others to create and market expensive compounded medications that are intended to be tailored for individual patient needs, according to an Oct. 26 Justice Department news release. Instead of tailoring the medications, a pharmacy designed formulations to maximize reimbursement from federal healthcare programs.
Pharmacy owners and others paid kickbacks to Mr. Cockerell and others, who recruited physicians to write prescriptions for the medications, including by creating investment opportunities so physicians who wrote prescriptions could profit from the pharmacy operations.
Mr. Cockerell was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., one count of receiving unlawful kickbacks and one count of money laundering. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.