Sunday, December 8, 2013

Pharmacist Delmer Holmes Parrish of Sunshine Pharmacy and Sunshine Solutions Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud in Federal Court

CREATED Nov. 4, 2013
FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Naples pharmacist and his mother pleaded guilty Monday in a Fort Myers federal courtroom to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
44-year-old Delmer Holmes Parish and 74-year-old Patricia Parrish each face a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.
As part of the plea agreement, Delmer Parrish also agreed to voluntarily relinquish his pharmacist license to the State of Florida. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The U.S. Attorney says that from February 2009 to July 2012 both Delmer Parrish and Patricia Parrish participated in a conspiracy to defraud federal health care benefit programs out of approximately $351,358.14. 
Along with others, both used Sunshine Pharmacy and Sunshine Solutions to submit and cause claims to be submitted for reimbursement from Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE programs for prescriptions not filled or provided to beneficiaries and recipients. The claims included prescriptions for patients that had not been written or authorized by any duly licensed physician. 
In addition, the co-conspirators submitted and caused claims to be submitted for reimbursement from these same programs for beneficiaries and recipients who were deceased.
quoted from here

NAPLES, FL -
UPDATE: Both Del Parrish and his mother, Patricia Parrish, were released from federal custody this evening after a magistrate granted them bond.

Two people connected to a troubled Collier County pharmacy were arrested today as part of a multi-state Medicare, Medicaid and insurance fraud crackdown.
NBC2 reporter Rick Ritter was there Tuesday morning as Del Parrish and his mother, Patricia, owners of Sunshine Pharmacy, were taken into custody after the investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Customers we spoke with were both surprised and angry.
"They should've been arrested because they shouldn't have been allowed to do that, especially to elderly people like myself," said Evelyn Lashley. "My reaction is I'm using Walgreen's now."
HHS began investigating Sunshine Pharmacy in July 2012.
Authorities say Delmer and Patricia Parrish fraudulently submitted prescription claims to federal benefit programs, like Medicare, without ever dispensing the medication.
The criminal complaint indicates they did it to make money and keep the pharmacy in operation.
The HHS agent met with four former employees, who exposed how the scheme worked. They said Delmer falsified prescriptions from doctors and would change prescriptions to more expensive medications and that Patricia Parrish printed random, unexplained prescriptions.
A Naples hospice doctor identified 25 prescription claims submitted in his name that he did not write.
The criminal complaint states the pharmacy sometimes submitted claims for medication it didn't even have in stock.
It also states a former employee says the Parrishs used hospice patients' Social Security and credit cardnumbers in the scheme.
When employees confronted the Parrishes about what was going on, the court documents say the duo promised to stop--but didn't.
They appeared in federal court Tuesday afternoon.
Patricia Parrish was granted a $250,000 bond. If she's able to post bond, she will be able to return to work but cannot have anything to do with billing.
Del Parrish's bond was set at $300,000. He'd be confined to his home and cannot work as a pharmacist. He must also undergo psychiatric evaluation, random drug tests and have no contact with former Sunshine Pharmacy employees.
If convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, they face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
One Sunshine Pharmacy location was first raided and shut down in January, and the company  has since closed another of its four locations, as well as given up its Drug Enforcement Agency registration.
NBC2 also found prescription records from Sunshine Pharmacy exposed in a trash bin. In our March 2013 story, Del Parrish said he thought the pharmacy was being framed by a disgruntled employee who was dumping the documents.
quoted from here

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