13 plead guilty in $126M compounding scheme

Three physicians, three pharmacy owners, two pharmacists and three patient recruiters were among 13 defendants who pleaded guilty to charges related to a $126 million compounding fraud scheme in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

The scheme targeted the federal Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and Tricare, which provides civilian health benefits for U.S. military personnel.

The defendants were accused of paying kickbacks to patient recruiters and physicians to induce them to prescribe compounded drugs to injured federal workers and members of the armed forces.

“The defendants chose the particular compounds and other drugs based not on the patients’ medical needs but in light of the amount of reimbursement for the drugs,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “The drugs were then mailed to patients, even though the patients often never requested, wanted or needed them.”

The defendants, who were not identified in the department’s statement, face maximum sentences of five to 20 years at sentencing hearings set for February.

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