A man is facing time behind bars for his role in a scheme that involved defrauding Michigan State University. Heath care fraud in all forms is a serious federal offense, and it can result in serious repercussions for those convicted of these crimes. In this specific situation, the defendant will serve one year and one day in a federal prison. After the completion of his sentence, he will serve three years on supervised release.
Details of a health care fraud scheme
The man admitted to a scheme that involved soliciting a local Michigan doctor for prescriptions for medically compounded creams that were both expensive and medically unnecessary. The defendant was a pharmaceutical sales representative at the time, and the pharmacies where these medications were compounded would in turn pay him for directing the prescriptions to them. Some of these prescriptions were written for employees of Michigan State University.
The pharmacies would then bill the university approximately $2,000 to $3,000 per prescription. Estimates suggest that the operation between the pharmacies and other parties resulted in around $200 million in claims across the country for unnecessary medications. Claims totaling approximately $1.26 million were connected to the health care plan at Michigan State University.
A widespread operation
Health care fraud is a serious crime, and those convicted of this type of crime will likely spend time behind bars. In this case, several parties were involved in this scheme, yet even this individual with a small role is facing one year in prison. When facing fraud allegations or while under investigation for any type of financial crime, one will benefit from seeking experienced defense counsel.
