Health fraud case: Mississippi pharmacy owner gets 18 years

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Compounded pain cream medications has become a huge business for accident victims, cancer patients, etc to the point that one law office in Philadelphia set-up their own pharmacy ---until Philadelphia Inquirer article expose forced quick disinvestment.

ABC News 1/16/2021

Health fraud case: Mississippi pharmacy owner gets 18 years

Quote

 

A Mississippi owner of pharmacies and pharmacy distributors has been sentenced to 18 years in prison and ordered to repay the government nearly $287.7 million for his part in what prosecutors described as a $510 million health care fraud involving high-priced pain cream.

Wade Ashley Walters, 54, of Hattiesburg, also was ordered at Friday's sentencing to forfeit nearly $56.6 million that he gained personally from the scheme, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Walters had been charged in a 37-count indictment. He pleaded guilty in July to one count each of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering

.Between 2012 and 2016, Walters orchestrated a scheme to defraud Tricare, the insurance program for U.S. military, veterans, and their families, and private health insurers by distributing compounded medications that were not needed, prosecutors said....

 

 

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Don't mess with the Feds!

Wow, almost as much time as for homicide.

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Specializes in Hospice, Geri, Psych and SA,.

I had to look up "compounded pain creams" as I had never heard of them. Apparently there's some controversy because they include various medications that haven't really been studied for topical use, plus they're not FDA approved, etc. That said, if they help people and help decrease opioid consumption then I'm all for them.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
On 2/2/2021 at 3:32 PM, TheMoonisMyLantern said:

I had to look up "compounded pain creams" as I had never heard of them. Apparently there's some controversy because they include various medications that haven't really been studied for topical use, plus they're not FDA approved, etc. That said, if they help people and help decrease opioid consumption then I'm all for them.

Some of them work very well and can be helpful in palliative and hospice care. 

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