Medicare Fraud Probes Keep DOJ Hopping

Named in the indictment and arrested were Norman Werther, MD, of Horsham, pharmacist Ihsanullah "Sean" Maaf, of Northeast Pharmacy in Philadelphia, and alleged drug trafficker William Stukes, of Philadelphia. According to the indictment, Stukes and his alleged drug trafficking organization recruited large numbers of pseudo patients and took them to Werther's medical office for fake examinations.

These "patients" paid an office visit fee, usually $150, to the office staff and Werther would write prescriptions for oxycodone-based drugs without there being a medical need. The "patients" were driven to various pharmacies to have their prescriptions filled, including Northeast Pharmacy where Maaf would fill the prescription.

The drugs were then turned over to Stukes or his drivers. Stukes and his organization would allegedly sell the narcotics to numerous drug dealers, who are also named in the indictment, who would also then resell the drugs on the street.

CA Clinic, MD, to Pay $7.5M To Settle Fraud Case 

An Orange County, CA physician and the clinic he operated will pay the federal government $7.5 million to settle whistleblower Medicare fraud civil claims related to billings for cancer treatments, the Department of Justice has announced.

Glen Justice, MD, an oncologist from Corona del Mar, CA, and the CEO of Pacific Coast Hematology, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to submitting bills to Medicare for injectable cancer medications that were never administered to patients, DOJ said.

Federal prosecutors announced a settlement last week in the civil case against Justice, 66, which arose from a whistleblower lawsuit brought forward by former employees at the medical group.

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