Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Charges for Role in $200 Million Compounding Pharmacy Scheme

A Hattiesburg, Mississippi man pleaded guilty today for his role in a $200 million compounding pharmacy scheme to defraud health care benefit programs, including TRICARE, which is the program that covers U.S. military service members and their families.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze of the FBI’s Jackson, Mississippi Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman III of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office and Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office made the announcement.
Glenn Doyle Beach Jr., 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and tax evasion, before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett of the Southern District of Mississippi.  Beach was charged in May 2018 in a 26-count indictment and had been scheduled to begin trial today.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2, 2019.
“Glenn Doyle Beach and his co-conspirators stole hundreds of millions of dollars from federal health care programs, including TRICARE, which provides benefits to brave members of our military and their families,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “The Criminal Division remains dedicated to rooting out and punishing this kind of misconduct, and to protecting America’s important health care programs from fraud and abuse.”
“While our men and women in uniform were defending the freedoms and values we hold dear, this defendant was selfishly stealing precious money and resources from their military healthcare system, TRICARE, to the detriment of us all,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.  “Our investigators and prosecutors are to be commended for their steely resolve in rooting out corruption and administering justice for victims.  We will not stop until every last person involved in this criminal scheme has been brought to justice.”
“Fraud schemes of this magnitude disrupt the fabric of our health care system, ultimately damaging our nation's economy and costing taxpayers billions each year,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Freeze.  “Today's guilty plea brings this case one step closer to justice and proves that the collective resources of all partnering agencies will continue to expose these schemes and will actively seek justice for those who participate in them."
Beach was an owner and the managing member of Advantage Pharmacy of Hattiesburg.  At the hearing today, Beach admitted his role in a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs, including TRICARE, by marketing medications known as compounded medications, which ordinarily are medications that are specially combined or formulated to meet the individual needs of patients.  Beach admitted, however, that through Advantage Pharmacy of Hattiesburg, he formulated compounded medications without regard to the individual needs of the patients, but instead in order to increase reimbursements paid by health care benefit programs.  Furthermore, Beach admittedly created a fictitious paper trail to mislead insurance auditors who attempted to uncover the fraud. 
Beach further detailed a money laundering and tax evasion scheme that he and other co-conspirators used to conceal the fraudulent proceeds and evade taxes.
From approximately April 2012 through January 2016, health care benefit programs, including TRICARE, reimbursed Advantage Pharmacy and other pharmacies involved in the scheme at least $200 million, Beach admitted.  The government seized more than $6 million in cash and other assets from Beach, which will be forfeited in connection with his guilty plea.
Since 2017, 11 other individuals involved in this scheme have pleaded guilty, and one was convicted at trial.  The investigation is ongoing.
This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-CI and DCIS, among other agencies.  Trial Attorneys Kate Payerle and Jared Hasten of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Helen Wall of the Southern District of Mississippi and Sean Welsh of the Western District of Virginia, formerly of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Trial Attorney Amanda Wick of MLARS.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Topic(s): 
Health Care Fraud
Press Release Number: 
19-272

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Purdue Pharma Agrees To $270 Million Opioid Settlement With ...

NPR-4 hours ago
The settlement comes one day after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ... "We have long alleged that Purdue Pharma ignited today's epidemic by ...
Maker of OxyContin reaches $270M settlement in Oklahoma
Highly Cited-Associated Press-6 hours ago
Oklahoma Attorney General to Announce the Settlement of Purdue ...
International-Golden Casino News (blog)-8 hours ago

Flashback: What happened to the 12 respected professionals accused in $400M compound pharmacy scheme? Lici Beveridge, Hattiesburg American Published 12:15 p.m. CT Nov. 9, 2018

https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/09/who-12-accused-compound-400-million-ms-compound-pharmacy-scheme/1664964002/

Bayer, J&J settle thousands of US Xarelto lawsuits for $775 million

MD Linx-8 hours ago
Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson have agreed to settle more than 25,000 US lawsuits alleging that their blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto (rivaroxaban) ..

CVS asks 60 drugmakers to suspend drug price hikes

Becker's Hospital Review-4 hours ago
31 that would eliminate rebates — the discounts drugmakers pay to pharmacybenefit managers. The rebate ban, which is expected to be finalized before health .

Texas Doctors Seek Ability To Sell Certain Drugs From Their Office

KVEO-TV-17 hours ago
The Texas Pharmacy Association argues this would place a patient's health and safety at risk and says pharmacists are the medication experts. "The threat to the ...

Bills would let Texas physicians sell some meds from their offices: 5 ...

Becker's Hospital Review-1 hour ago
The Texas Pharmacy Association opposes the bills, arguing that pharmacists are the medication experts and allowing a physician to dispense the medication .

FDA and Pharmacy Weekly Digest - March 2019 #4

JD Supra (press release)-9 hours ago
One bill would permit “a pharmacist or a pharmacy to decline to dispense a prescription drug or provide a pharmacy service to a certain member if the amount ...

Kauffman 'crime spree' lives on through local health benefits fraud case

Press of Atlantic City-3 hours ago
The search warrant affidavit also named the Louisiana compounding pharmacy investigators believed was at the center of the scheme, Central Rexall Drugs Inc.
17 hours ago - Two more doctors in northeastern Oklahoma have entered into settlement agreements for accepting illegal kickback payments from OK Compounding, LLC.

Hattiesburg man pleads guilty for his role in $200 million compounding pharmacy scheme

http://www.wlbt.com/2019/03/26/hattiesburg-man-pleads-guilty-his-role-million-compounding-pharmacy-scheme/

Breaking News!! Doyle Beach guilty plea: 13 of 13 convicted in $400 million pain cream fraud Lici Beveridge, Hattiesburg American Published 10:18 a.m. CT March 26, 2019 | Updated 10:37 a.m. CT March 26, 2019

https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/crime/2019/03/26/doyle-beach-pleads-guilty-400-million-fraud-scheme/3161364002/
02/19/2019IMedDoAtlanta District OfficeUnapproved New Drugs/MisbrandedNot Issued *
02/28/2019La Vita Compounding Pharmacy, LLCLos Angeles District OfficeCompounding Pharmacy/Adulterated Drug ProductsNot Issued *
03/06/2019Thibiant International, Inc.Los Angeles District OfficeCGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/AdulteratedNot Issued *
03/12/2019Uustar Corporation dba Daily Vita, LLCAtlanta District OfficeUnapproved New Drugs/MisbrandedNot Issued *
03/13/2019One Way Drug LLC dba Partell Specialty PharmacyLos Angeles District OfficeCompounding Pharmacy/Adulterated Drug ProductsNot Issued *
03/14/2019Mariposa Labs, LLCLos Angeles District OfficeCGMP/Finished Pharmaceuticals/AdulteratedNot Issued

Friday, March 22, 2019

10 hours ago - In her ruling, Norton said Idaho must release a receipt from the compounding ... and the compounding pharmacy is no longer allowed to provide chemicals to ...
7 hours ago - Two more doctors in northeastern Oklahoma have entered into settlement agreements for accepting illegal kickback payments from OK Compounding, LLC.
21 hours ago - Last week, a U.S. district court judge in the Southern District of Florida upheld a magistrate judge's decision to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) allegations against a compoundingpharmacy, its private equity firm owner, and two individuals. ... The government alleged that the parties 

Thursday, March 21, 2019

There's no 'conspiracy' in Ontario pharmacies — just flawed ...

Financial Post-11 hours ago
There is a vast criminal conspiracy involving every pharmacy in Ontario. At least that's what recent media coverage of the province's pharmacy sector would ...

Kentucky launches probe into drug overcharges by pharmacy benefit ...

Midwest Communication-8 hours ago
(Reuters) - Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said on Thursday he had launched an investigation into allegations that pharmacy benefit managers ..

Senate panel to hear from pharmacy middlemen on drug prices

The Hill-7 hours ago
The Senate Finance Committee said Thursday that it has secured commitments from executives of five major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to testify next ...

It's a struggle to pay the bills': Illinois independent pharmacies say ...

Chicago Tribune-4 hours ago
The pharmacy's workers cleared the shelves. A maintenance crew took down the signs. And then they shut the pharmacy's doors for the final time in July.

Contaminated Prescriptions – Biggest Challenge in Global ...

New Daily Herald-13 hours ago
Compounding pharmacies play an important role in the testing and development of drugsCompounding pharmacists are currently involved in testing and 

Ex-medical sales rep in Little Rock gets 8 months in scheme involving compounded drugs

13 hours ago - He said that nationally, Tricare paid nearly $2 billion in 2015 for compoundedprescription drugs, constituting an 18-fold increase that prompted investigations ...
10 hours ago - ... sentence and will have to forfeit several luxury cars as part of his punishment for participating in a scheme involving fraudulent billing for compounded drugs
22 hours ago - Athenex Sues FDA To Get Vasopressin On List Of Drugs That Can Be Compounded :: Pink Sheet.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Seven Indicted in $50 Million Compound Cream Scheme

WorkCompCentral-14 hours ago
“The defendants paid individuals to agree to receive prescription medications from the compounding pharmacy,” reads the bulletin from U.S. Attorney Craig ...

Odessa Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Pharmacy Fraud Plot


Odessa Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Pharmacy Fraud Plot

TB Reporter (blog)-18 hours ago
... 19) for his participation in a massive compounding pharmacy fraud scheme, ... and fraudulent claims for compounded drugs, primarily pain and scar creams, ...

Who's been charged in prescription fraud case?

Press of Atlantic City-10 hours ago
Prosecutors have said the illegal scheme centers on the billing of the state's public employee health benefits plans for medically unnecessary compounded
17 hours ago - Two more doctors in northeastern Oklahoma have entered into settlement agreements with the U.S. Attorney's Office for allegedly accepting illegal kickback .