Texas Couple Sentenced In Federal Court For Allegedly Scamming The Dept. Of Transportation Of $21.8 Million In Compouded Medicine

A Texas man and wife were sentenced in Federal court today after a guilty verdict and a guilty plea this spring was handed down on charges that they committed $21.8 million in fraud against the Federal government.

The 75-year-old man was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of Texas to ten years in prison, and his 68-year-old wife was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement and three years of probation. The husband was convicted in March of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, 11 counts of health care fraud, and three counts of wire fraud. His wife pled guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to pay kickbacks.

Prosecutors say the husband and others conspired to bill the United States Department of Labor for tens of millions of dollars in medically unnecessary compounded gels and creams, the prescriptions of which were obtained via illicit kickbacks. A third man, identified as a 48-year-old legal permanent resident, also allegedly aided in the scheme. He remains at large.

The three individuals used injured state and federal employees to further their scheme, said prosecutors. They allegedly used other companies to launder the monies generated by the scheme, and they allegedly classified the illegal kickbacks as marketing expenses. The trio also continued to ship the gels and creams after the patients indicated that they no longer wished to receive them.

The Law Offices of Bjorn Brunvand have been representing people charged with capital murder, felony drug charges, drunk driving, government fraud, and white-collar crimes for over a quarter century. Contact our office today to discuss your Tampa Bay-area state or federal charges.