Two pharmacy owners in New York City have been indicted on charges of healthcare fraud that targeted Medicare and Medicaid.
Taesung “Terry” Kim (58) and Dacheng “Bruce” Lu (44) were arrested on charges of submitting about $26 million in fraudulent claims, paying illegal kickbacks and bribes, and laundering the proceeds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York stated that the defendants ran four pharmacies in Queens and Brooklyn, including 888 Pharmacy Inc. and Huikang Pharmacy Inc. in Brooklyn, and Elmcare Pharmacy Inc. and NY Elm Pharmacy Inc. in Queens.
They were accused of conspiring with others to submit false and fraudulent claims for the dispensing of unnecessary pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products.
The attorney’s office claimed that the proceeds of the fraud were laundered through shell entities to generate cash that they could disperse as profits to themselves and the pharmacies’ other owners, and to pay pharmacy customers as kickbacks.
Prosecutors received a tip before investigating the healthcare fraud. They are now expanding the investigation to include other healthcare providers and medical device vendors who may have conspired with the pharmacy owners.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and federal prosecutors are involved in the investigation.
The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, and five years in prison for conspiracy to pay illegal healthcare kickbacks and bribes.
BY YUL JANG [support@koreadaily.com]
