Maryland

July 15, 2010

Physician Agrees to Settle False Claims to Medicare for Services to Nursing Home Residents (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore, Maryland - William Crittenden, M.D., of Kensington, Maryland, has agreed to pay the United States $225,000  to settle claims that he submitted false claims to federal health benefits programs over a twenty month period between January 1, 2003 and November 30, 2005.

The settlement was announced on July 15, 2010, by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Philadelphia Region which includes Maryland.   

According to the settlement agreement, from January 1, 2003 to November 30, 2005, Dr. Crittenden submitted fraudulent claims to the Medicare program in connection with his visits to residents in nursing homes.  Dr. Crittenden had a doctor-patient relationship with the Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes or other assisted living facilities in Maryland. For each of these Medicare beneficiaries, Dr. Crittenden established a treatment plan that involved seeing each patient monthly. The billing codes that Dr. Crittenden used for these appointments were time sensitive and were intended to reflect the amount of time that the physician spent with the patient.  The codes that Dr. Crittenden used reflected the expenditure of more time than he devoted, on some days indicating that the amount of time exceeded the ordinary work day, and on more than one occasion, exceeded 24 hours. Dr. Crittenden denies the allegations.

Enacted during the Civil War, the False Claims Act is the government’s primary civil tool to combat fraud and abuse in federal programs and procurement.  The Act allows the government to recover triple the amount of its actual damages, plus a civil penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 for each false claim and permits the payment of a portion of any settlement or judgment under the Act to individuals who bring fraud to the attention of authorities.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen F. Loucks, who handled the case

July 5, 2010

Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Over 4 Years for Health Care Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Conspiracy to Misbrand Drugs (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Pamela Arrey, age 49, of Glenelg, Maryland, a licensed pharmacist, to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to misbrand pharmaceuticals.  Judge Garbis also entered an order that Arrey forfeit her home and pay restitution of $505,745.89.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Philadelphia Region which includes Maryland; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas P. Doyle, Food & Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office which includes Maryland.

“Evidence that Pamela Arrey was making fraudulent claims to health care programs and relabeling prescription drugs purchased in large drums from an unlicensed supplier caused the Food and Drug Administration to issue an alert to customers in 2008 not to use drugs distributed by her pharmacy,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.  “When drugs are taken out of their original containers and relabeled, customers cannot verify their authenticity and expiration date.  The sentence imposed on Ms. Arrey holds her accountable for committing fraud and putting at risk the health of her customers.”

According to her guilty plea, Arrey owned and operated two pharmacies trading as the Medicine Shoppe, located on Liberty Road and Reisterstown Road in Baltimore.  From January 2003 to July 2008, Arrey identified patients who had filled prescriptions at her pharmacies and for whom the physician authorized refills that had never been requested.  Arrey then claimed reimbursement from health care benefit programs, using patients’ personal identifying information, for “refills” of those prescriptions, for which no prescription drugs were ever dispensed to customers.  Arrey’s pharmacies fraudulently obtained approximately $505,745 through this scheme.  The proceeds of the scheme were deposited into her Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy bank account, which Arrey also used to pay the mortgage on her Glenelg home.

In addition, Arrey misbranded and relabeled prescription drugs she had purchased in large drums from an unlicensed supplier, for resale in her pharmacies.  Arrey admitted that she filled prescription orders for pharmacy customers with misbranded pharmaceuticals, including Metformin, an oral diabetes medications used to help control blood sugar levels, and Gabapentin, an anti-epileptic medication used to treat seizures.

On July 7, 2008, the Maryland Board of Pharmacy conducted a surprise inspection of the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy on Liberty Road and recovered 11 drums of misbranded pharmaceuticals, which contained over 200,000 misbranded pills.  On July 29, 2008 federal agents searched the pharmacies and Arrey’s home. Agents recovered drugs from the pharmacies with expiration dates removed and others with altered labels.  Agents seized more controlled substances from Arrey’s home, including Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Adderall and Kadian, all of which were expired.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who prosecuted the case.

April 15, 2010

Maryland Woman Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for D.C. Medicaid Fraud (U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia) 

Washington -  Lois Diane Fant, 60, of Laurel, Maryland, was indicted today by a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia on charges of health care fraud and false claims, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Shawn Henry Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Charles Willoughby, District of Columbia Inspector General, and Nicholas DiGiulio Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS - OIG) Philadelphia Region.

The 12-count indictment alleges that the defendant was the president and owner of a non-emergency transportation company.  The defendant enrolled her company as a “provider,” able to provide services to D.C. Medicaid recipients.  According to the indictment, from January 2003 to June 2005, the defendant billed for services which were not provided to D.C. Medicaid recipients and thus tricked Medicaid into paying her company approximately $148,600 for services which were not performed.

If convicted of the charges, the defendant faces a possible prison term of 12-18 months.

In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Henry, D.C. Inspector General Willoughby and Special Agent in Charge DiGiulio commended the special agents of the Washington Field Office of the FBI, Special Agent Cindy Sheedy of the Washington D.C. office of HHS-OIG, former AUSA Roy Austin, former AUSA Ronald Sharpe, AUSA James  Mitzelfeld, Jacqueline Schesnol, Deputy Director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, D.C. Office of the Inspector General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and auditor Clark Geiger, also from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.   They also commended Paralegal Specialists Maggie McCabe and Carolyn Cody, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who is prosecuting the case.

An Indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

March 25, 2010

Husband of Former Carefirst Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $234,000 (U.S. Attorney for The District of Maryland)

Baltimore - Melvin Turner, age 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on March 25, 2010, to embezzlement from a health care benefit program.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to Turner’s plea agreement, from June 2001 to 2005, Turner and his wife Nicole Stepney Turner, who was employed as a Billing and Enrollment Technician with CareFirst, participated in a scheme to defraud CareFirst.  Specifically,  Stepney Turner caused 84 checks to be issued by CareFirst, in amounts ranging from $335.59 to $3,956.13, purportedly to pay refunds to CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maryland’s customers.  In fact, those premium refund checks were made payable to ten co-conspirators, who were recruited by Melvin Turner.  The co-conspirators were persuaded to allow the Turners to use their name as a payee and agreed to cash the checks for the Turners.  At the direction of Turner and his wife, the payees cashed the checks and were generally provided a small fee.  Turner and his wife received the majority of the money from the cashed checks which totaled $234,964.11.

Nicole Stepney Turner, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement from a health care benefit program.  Five other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and been sentenced.  Three other conspirators have been charged and are fugitives.

U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr., has scheduled sentencing for June 29, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.

December 23, 2009

Pharmacy Owner Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft And Conspiracy To Misbrand Drugs (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore, Maryland - Pamela Arrey, age 49, of Glenelg, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Dec. 23, 2009, to one count each of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and to misbrand pharmaceuticals, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to her guilty plea, Arrey, a licensed pharmacist, owned and operated two pharmacies trading as the Medicine Shoppe, on Liberty Road and Reisterstown Road in Baltimore.  From January 2003 to July 2008, Arrey identified patients who had filled prescriptions at one of her two pharmacies and for whom the physician authorized refills that had never been requested.  Arrey then claimed reimbursement from health care benefit programs, using patients’ personal identifying information, for “refills” of those prescriptions, which patients had never requested and for which no prescription drugs were ever dispensed to customers.  Arrey’s pharmacies earned approximately $505,745 through this scheme.  The proceeds of the scheme were deposited into her Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy bank account, which Arrey also used to pay the mortgage on her Glenelg home.  Arrey’s plea agreement requires that she forfeit the home and make full restitution.

In addition, Arrey misbranded and relabeled prescription drugs she had purchased in large drums from a supplier who was not a licensed wholesaler, for resale in the pharmacy.  Arrey admitted that, with the assistance of her employee, Rita Zamora, she filled prescription stock bottles with misbranded pharmaceuticals, including Metformin, an oral diabetes medications used to help control blood sugar levels, and Gabapentin, an anti-epileptic medication used to treat seizures

Specifically, Arrey’s co-conspirator, Joseph Egbe, owned and operated e-Meditech, a charitable organization which requested and received drugs from other charitable organizations, including Catholic Medical Mission Board (“CMMB”), with the understanding that it would ship or transport the drugs to Africa for donation to the underprivileged.   On June 18, 2008, Egbe sold Arrey 11 barrels of misbranded drugs, including Metformin, Gabapentin and Guaifenesin/Detromethorphan (a cough and cold remedy), that he received from CMMB.  Arrey paid Egbe $2,450 for the barrels.

On July 7, 2008, the Board of Pharmacy conducted a surprise inspection of the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy on Liberty Road and recovered 11 drums of misbranded pharmaceuticals, which contained over 200,000 misbranded pills.  On July 29, 2008 federal agents searched the pharmacies and Arrey’s home.  From the pharmacies, agents recovered drugs with expiration dates removed and others with altered labels.  From Arrey’s home agents seized more controlled substances, including Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Adderall and Kadian, all of which were expired.

“The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services will continue to aggressively investigate those who defraud the Medicare and Medicaid programs,” said Patrick Coar, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the region overseeing Maryland. “Together with our law enforcement partners we will bring justice to those who cheat at the public’s expense.”  

Arrey faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for health care fraud; a mandatory minimum of two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft; and five years in prison for conspiracy to misbrand pharmaceuticals.   U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis has scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

Rita Zamora, age 32, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and to misbrand pharmaceuticals and Joseph Egbe, age 44, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, pleaded guilty to misbranding of pharmaceuticals.  Egbe faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for January 4, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.  Zamora faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison at her sentencing, which is scheduled for February 12, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations for their investigative work.  Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who are prosecuting the case.

November 20, 2009

Hospital Employee Sentenced for Stealing Patient Information for Fraud Scheme: Baltimore Woman and Co-Schemers Took Social Security Numbers and Related Information of 207 Victims (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Michelle Courtney Johnson, age 31, of Baltimore, on Nov. 20, 2009 to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for stealing patient information to fraudulently obtain credit used to purchase merchandise and obtain cash, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Quarles also entered a judgement ordering Johnson to pay restitution of $203,627.11.

According to her plea agreement and court documents, from August 2005 to April 2007, Johnson was a patient services coordinator at Johns Hopkins Medicine and used her employment to provide co-defendant, Shannell Bowser with the names, social security numbers and other personal identifying information of over 100 current and former patients of Johns Hopkins. Bowser was employed as a claims clerk with a medical insurance adjuster and also stole client personal identifying information. Johnson knew that Bowser used the stolen personal identifying information to apply for credit over the internet. The credit was used to withdraw cash from ATM machines and to purchase clothing, electronics and other items.

Purchases made online were delivered to the homes of Johnson, Bowser and their co-schemers, their friends and family, and to vacant homes. Johnson would hold items delivered to her home for Bowser to pick up, and kept some of the fraudulently ordered merchandise for herself, including a computer monitor, a cordless phone, and clothes for herself and her children.

Over the course of the scheme, Johnson and her co-schemers used stolen identifying information of at least 207 individuals in at least 373 applications for credit accounts from financial institutions. Of those applications, at least 125 fraudulent accounts were opened and used to make purchases in the names of 89 individual victims. At least $174,000 in retail goods and cash advances were purchased and obtained using the fraudulently opened credit accounts.

Shanell Angelia Bowser, age 30, of Baltimore pleaded guilty to the same offenses and was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Quarles also entered a judgement against Bowser ordering her to pay restitution of $203,627.11.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Rachel Miller Yasser, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information, visit the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland at http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/

November 11, 2009

Former Carefirst Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling more than $237,000 (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Nicole Stepney Turner, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to embezzlement from a health care benefit program, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to Stepney Turner’s plea agreement, she was employed as a Billing and Enrollment Technician with CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which offers health insurance and managed care services to Maryland residents. Beginning in at least June 2001, Stepney Turner caused 84 checks to be issued by CareFirst, in amounts ranging from $335.59 to $3,956.13, purportedly to pay refunds to CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maryland’s customers.  Stepney Turner caused the premium refund checks from CareFirst to be made payable to ten co-conspirators, including her husband, Melvin Turner.  At the direction of Stepney Turner and her husband, the payees cashed the checks and were generally provided a small fee.  Stepney Turner and her husband received the majority of the money from the cashed checks which totaled $237,638.54.

Four co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and been sentenced.  Melvin Turner and two other conspirators have been charged and are fugitives.

Stepney Turner faces a  maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for February 18, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work.  Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.

More information on the U.S. Attorney's Office for District of Maryland: http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/index.html

September 10, 2009

Columbia Dentist Pleads Guilty to Writing Fraudulent Prescriptions to Obtain Drugs (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore - Dr. Keith A. Seicke, age 43, of Columbia, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Sept. 10, to writing hundreds of fraudulent prescriptions to obtain hydrocodone and oxycodone, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to the plea agreement, from 2005 through 2008, Dr. Keith Seicke, a dentist, visited various pharmacies to receive large quantities of  Hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled dangerous substance.  Dr. Seicke wrote hundreds of fraudulent prescriptions, using the names, dates of birth, and addresses of real individuals.  Some of the individuals were deceased; others were previous dental patients of Dr. Seicke.  The individuals did not know Dr. Seicke was using their personal information to obtain drugs.  Using these fraudulent prescriptions, Dr. Seicke worked with a co-conspirator pharmacist to obtain Hydrocodone.  Dr. Seicke personally visited the pharmacist at locations where he worked, including Ellicott City and Columbia, Maryland.  Dr. Seicke would call the pharmacist only on the pharmacist’s cell phone to provide the prescriptions and always paid the pharmacist in cash for the drug transactions.  On several occasions, the pharmacist met Dr. Seicke on the street to sell him the Hydrocodone.    

As part of the investigation, DEA agents examined the prescriptions created by Dr. Seicke and found that most were for Hydrocodone and a smaller number were for Oxycodone.  A federal search warrant executed at Dr. Seicke’s home recovered bottles of Hydrocodone prescriptions in other people’s names.  At Dr. Seicke’s dental office, DEA officials seized records showing false prescriptions that Dr. Seicke was writing.  Over the course of four years, Dr. Seicke falsely prescribed and obtained approximately 35,000 units of Hydrocodone, using misrepresentation, fraud, and deception to acquire drugs.

“Here is another example of how dangerous prescription drug abuse can be,” stated Ava Cooper-Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  “Dr. Seicke became a drug abuser himself and wrote hundreds of fraudulent prescriptions in order to feed his personal drug habit. The abuse of prescription medications is one of our leading law enforcement challenges and DEA is up to that challenge.”

Dr. Seicke faces a  maximum sentence of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 24, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration for their investigative work.  Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Kwame J. Manley, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information ,visit the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/index.html

July 20, 2009

Two Conspirators Sentenced In Illegal Internet Distribution of Prescription Diet Drugs (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Greenbelt, Md. - U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Susana Mendez, age 50, of Miami, Florida, on July 15, 2009, to 24 months probation, including 12 months home detention, and sentenced her husband, Jose Riopedre, age 51, also of Miami, to a year and a day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute 2,227,000 dosage units of phentermine, a drug generally used for weight loss, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Messitte also ordered Mendez and Riopedre to forfeit $1.5 million.

“Greed leads some doctors and pharmacists to engage in the illegal diversion of prescription drugs, which can lead to permanent injuries and even death for addicted users,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

“The diversion and abuse of prescription drugs utilizing the internet is a serious threat to our communities. DEA is committed to being a part of a comprehensive solution, using tools such as the recently implemented Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, to defeat those who push diverted pharmaceuticals into the hands of those who abuse them,” said Ava A. Cooper-Davis, DEA Special Agent in Charge Washington Field Division.

“The IRS-Criminal Investigation follows the money trail to financially disrupt and dismantle significant illegal trafficking organizations,” stated C. Andre' Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “We are committed to targeting the untaxed underground economy to put that money back into the American economy.”

According to their plea agreements, from March 2005 to October 28, 2005, Jose Riopedre opened and operated Waterview Pharmacy (Waterview), located at 8675 Cherry Lane, Laurel, Maryland, with the assistance of his wife, Susana Mende and from April 2006 to October 2006, Riopedre and Mendez were involved with the operations of Union Pharmacy (Union), located at 13848 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland, which was owned by co-conspirator Josiah Akinsoji. Both of these pharmacies received all of their prescriptions orders from the Internet and were part of an Internet pharmacy business that was connected to a network of websites, businesses, and doctors who utilized the Internet unlawfully to sell controlled substances to customers throughout the United States.

The unlawful Internet pharmacy websites, several of which were controlled by co-conspirator Eduardo Garcia, allowed customers to place orders for various prescription drugs, including controlled substances, after the customer completed a brief on-line questionnaire describing the customer’s medical background and the customer’s reason for requesting the prescription drug. The questionnaires were forwarded to a group of licensed physicians located in Puerto Rico, who purportedly reviewed the questionnaires and approved the requests for the controlled substances. The customer never met or spoke with a doctor, or had his or her questionnaire verified. The controlled substances were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose because the customers ordering the controlled substances and the doctors approving the orders had not established a valid doctor-patient relationship. Customers were not required to submit a valid form of identification or a valid prescription prior to ordering the controlled substances through either ordering method. The unlawful Internet pharmacy websites lacked controls to prevent customers from ordering multiple prescriptions for the same controlled substance on the same day or before a previous prescription should be refilled.

Mendez and Riopedre also operated two businesses that collected the payments from the customers, ordered and paid for the controlled substances to fill the drug orders, paid the brick and mortar pharmacies which actually filled each prescription and paid the coconspirator doctors for each customer order reviewed.

During their respective periods of operation, Waterview and Union filled and distributed by overnight delivery thousands of prescriptions for Phentermine, a drug generally used for weight loss, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. These drug orders were filled in Maryland and shipped to customers in numerous states including Louisiana, Ohio, Florida and Texas. This business netted Riopedre and Mendez in excess of $1,500,000.

In related cases, in September 2005, Lazaro Vega opened Park & Clay pharmacy, located at 219 Park Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland and began filling drug orders from the websites owned by Garcia. Vega hired Derrick Truby as the registered pharmacist at Park and Clay Pharmacy, and from January to March 2006 Truby allowed the pharmacy to fill thousands of internet prescriptions for controlled substances when he was not on the pharmacy premises.

Eduardo Garcia, age 56, of Miami, Florida; Lazaro Vega, age 35, of Miami, Florida; Derrick Truby, age 46, of Catonsville, Maryland; and Josiah Akinsoji age 55, of Miami, Florida all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute Phentermine. Garcia was sentenced to six months home detention; Truby was sentenced to five months in prison, followed by five months home detention; and Akinsoji was sentenced to eight months in prison. No date has been set for Vega’s sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for the investigative work performed in this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan E. Foreman and Emily Glatfelter, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information ,visit the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/index.html

June 19, 2009

Howard County Pharmacy Owner Indicted For Health Care Fraud (U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland)

Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury yesterday indicted Pamela Arrey, age 48, of Glenelg, Maryland, for health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to the 13 count indictment, Arrey owned and operated two pharmacies trading as the Medicine Shoppe, on Liberty Road and Reisterstown Road in Baltimore.  From January 2003 to July 2008, Arrey allegedly claimed reimbursement from health care benefit programs for purported “refills” of prescriptions which patients had never requested and for which no prescription drugs were ever dispensed to customers.  The indictment seeks forfeiture of property obtained by Arrey as a result of the scheme, including $350,000 and residential property located in Glenelg, Maryland.

The indictment also alleges that Arrey used the identity of patients to carry out the health care fraud scheme.

Arrey faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each of the 12 counts of  health care fraud and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft.  No court appearance has been scheduled.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations for their investigative work.  Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information ,visit the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/