Who's been charged in prescription fraud case? MOLLY BILINSKI & CLAIRE LOWE Staff Writers Jun 24, 2020

"An ongoing federal investigation into prescription drug fraud has led to 30 people so far from Atlantic County and nearby being charged since August 2017."  Read more

Accused admits to role in Tricare fraud

Accused admits to role in Tricare fraud: LITTLE ROCK -- Albert Glenn Hudson of Little Rock admitted Wednesday in federal court in 2015, he participated with an Alexander doctor and a former Baxter County basketball coach to defraud Tricare, the federal government's health insurance program, of more than $12 million.

Margate doctor, Linwood man among three more indicted in health benefits scheme 2:09 pm June 25, 2020 by Lynda Cohen

https://breakingac.com/2020/06/margate-doctor-linwood-man-among-three-more-indicted-in-health-benefits-scheme/

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Mississippi

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Doctor and Nurse Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud in Compounding Pharmacy Scheme

Jackson, Miss. –   Dr. Thomas Edward Sturdavant, M.D., 56, of Cordova Tennessee, was sentenced Monday and Freda Cal Covington, RN, 55, of Hattiesburg, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett for their roles in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge Michelle Sutphin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) in Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Cyndy Bruce of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigative Service’s (“DCIS”) Southeast Field Office. 

Sturdavant was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a monetary judgment of $160,000, along with restitution in the amount of $1,628,409.  Covington was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Co-defendant Dr. Shahjahan Sultan was sentenced on June 16, 2020 to 48 months in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.

Beginning around May 2014, Sultan entered into a contract with a pharmacy located in Jackson County, Mississippi.  Pursuant to the contract, Sultan agreed to prescribe individuals expensive compound medications in exchange for the pharmacy agreeing to pay Sultan 35% of the reimbursements it received for the prescriptions Sultan authorized.

In September 2014, Dr. Sultan offered to pay Dr. Sturdavant $900,000 to perform telemedicine services and prescribe more expensive compounded medications that had no medical effectiveness.  Dr. Sturdavant also signed more than fifty prescriptions for the compounded medications for individuals he did not examine.  As a nurse, Covington helped further the conspiracy by identifying individuals in places like Jones County, Mississippi who had insurance that covered the expensive compounded medications.  She conducted cursory physical examinations of patients at places like gas stations and public playgrounds and falsified patient assessments for patients she knew did not need the expensive compounded medications. 

Sturdivant pled guilty before Judge Starrett on November 21, 2019, and Covington pled guilty on October 15, 2019.

Fallon Page, another nurse, pled guilty on November 21, 2019, to mail fraud for her involvement with having the unnecessary compound medications shipped to patients by the pharmacy.  She will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on July 7, 2020.

The case was investigated by the FBI and DCIS.  Assistant Chief Dustin M. Davis and Trial Attorney Sara E. Porter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk of the Southern District of Mississippi prosecuted the case.

Topic(s): 

Health Care Fraud

Component(s): 

Criminal - Criminal Fraud Section

USAO - Mississippi, Southern

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup June 23, 2020

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today continued to take action in the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic: In a new FDA Voices, titled FDA maintains the pace of meeting its goals on applications for medical products during the pandemic, FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., explains that one of the challenges facing the FDA during the COVID-19 pandemic is how to ensure the timely reviews of medical product applications despite a surge in volume of work and practical constraints that may impact our ability to conduct on-site inspections. The FDA has maintained the same pace of meeting its goals on review of applications for medical products during the pandemic that it has maintained in recent years. The FDA is partnering with the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) on the CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory (CDRC). CDRC is a forum for the exchange of clinical practice data to inform potential new uses of existing drugs for areas of high unmet medical need, advancing research in these areas. CDRC will focus on capturing relevant real-world clinical outcome data through the FDA-NCATS CURE ID platform. In a pilot project focused on COVID-19, CDRC will use data collected via the CURE ID platform to aggregate global clinician treatment experiences to identify existing drugs that demonstrate possible treatment approaches warranting further study. A Consumer Update, titled Getting Smarter about Food Safety: The Pandemic and Lessons Learned, explains that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the experts at the FDA have learned valuable lessons that will help shape our work to create a more digital and transparent, as well as safer, food system for you and your family. In the coming weeks, the FDA will unveil the blueprint for the New Era of Smarter Food Safety, which lays out how we will use technology and modern approaches over the next decade to strengthen the ways we approach the safety of the nation’s food supply, every day and in times of crisis. Testing updates: To date, the FDA has authorized 145 tests under EUAs; these include 122 molecular tests, 22 antibody tests, and 1 antigen test.

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Kill Shot A SHADOW INDUSTRY, A DEADLY DISEASE: By JASON DEAREN

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