Two physicians and two registered nurses have been charged in a $400 million pharmacy scheme to defraud Tricare, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi, according to the Hattiesburg American.
Shahjahan Sultan, MD; Thomas Edward Sturdavant, MD; Freda Cal Covington, RN; and Fallon Deneem Page, RN, were each charged with various crimes in a 15-count indictment. All four are charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and mail fraud.
Prosecutors claim the four prescribed and dispensed medically unnecessary compounded medications, some of which included ketamine, to patients without examining them.
They are the latest charged in connection to the scheme of filling prescriptions for compounded pain creams and vitamin pills, many of which cost more than $10,000 each, according to the report. Thirteen others already have been convicted.
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