A former pharmacy owner was sentenced to four years in prison Sept. 27 for fraudulently filling and dispensing thousands of prescription medications, including opioids, without a pharmacist license, according to a U.S. Justice Department news release.
Latif Mohamed Chowdhury owned and operated two Alexandria Care Pharmacies in Virginia. He personally filled and dispensed prescriptions despite the fact that he has no medical qualifications, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Mr. Chowdhury billed at least $500,000 to health insurance programs for prescriptions that were never filled or dispensed using the identities of licensed pharmacists without their permission between August 2015 and February 2016. He also submitted claims in the names of pharmacy customers for medications with no prescription from a physician and were never dispensed to any customer.
In some instances, Mr. Chowdhury dispensed Schedule II controlled substances using the names of minors as young as 7 and 8, the Justice Department said.
Read the full report here.
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