8 Florida Residents Charged for Compounding Pharmacy Fraud

The latest investigation by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has resulted in charges against 8 Florida residents for counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The investigation revealed a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme set in place by the 8 co-conspirators, who allegedly used a number of Florida-based pharmacies—including A to Z Pharmacy in New Port Richey, as well as Miami-area Medplus/New Life Pharmacy, Metropolitan Pharmacy, Havana Pharmacy, Jaimy Pharmacy, and Prestige Pharmacy—to submit fraudulent insurance claims for prescription compounded medications to private insurance companies, Medicare, and Tricare, from October 2012 through December 2015. In total, the pharmacies submitted about $633 million in claims and received about $157 million in reimbursement, according to the indictment.

“These reimbursement claims were allegedly based on prescriptions generated as a result of illegal kickbacks and bribes, prescriptions that were not based on legitimate provider/patient relationships, and misuse of patient information,” the DOJ said in a report released on August 9, 2016.

Some claims falsely maintained that the medications contained certain pharmaceutical ingredients when they actually did not, according to the DOJ’s report.

The FBI’s investigation into the case revealed that the 8 individuals involved allegedly used shell companies to move around funds and cover up their involvement in the extensive scheme.

The following individuals have been charged as follows:

· Nicholas A. Borgesano Jr., 43, of New Port Richey: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering

· Bradley Sirkin, 54, of Boca Raton: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering

· Scott D. Piccininni, 47, of Fort Lauderdale: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering

· Wayne M. Kreisberg, 39, of Parkland: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering

· Matthew N. Sterner, 47, of New Port Richey: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering

· Edwin Patrick Young, 48, of New Port Richey: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud

· Peter D. Williams, 55, of New Port Richey: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud

· Joseph Degregorio, 71, of New Port Richey: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud

Several of those defendants have been arrested and will have their initial appearances in federal courts in Florida.

Since 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged nearly 2900 defendants who have collectively billed Medicare for more than $10 billion. It recently charged 301 individuals in the largest health care fraud takedown in history, both in terms of the number of those charged and the amount of money lost.