Prosecutors charged three men in connection with a healthcare fraud scheme that allegedly involved prescribing and dispensing painkillers to patients who did not need them, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.
Federal prosecutors charged Mohammed Shariff, owner of Chicago-based Midtown Medical Center, and two others with conspiracy to dispense controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, dispensing oxycodone without a medical purpose and conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud.
Federal officials allege that patients would receive prescriptions from the clinic without undergoing a physical examination or medical test. In some cases, Mr. Shariff would allegedly encourage patients to say that they suffered from fabricated ailments. One of Mr. Shariff's accomplices would later falsify the patient's medical records to substantiate the prescriptions, according to the report.
Prosecutors also allege that if a patient said they were uninsured, Mr. Shariff and his co-conspirators would demand cash in exchange for the prescriptions. If a patient was covered under Medicare, Mr. Shariff would bill the government payer for medically unnecessary services, according to the Sun-Times.
Mr. Shariff pled not guilty to the charges on July 27. The arraignment for his two accomplices has not yet been scheduled.