U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett announced criminal charges against six defendants in connection with schemes to defraud health care benefit programs and misuse of controlled substances in the Western District of Kentucky on Thursday. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. The charges stem from three unlawful billing schemes, one opioid theft scheme, and a doctor who allowed his staff to issue Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions in his absence.
“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”
The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Bennett are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
The following individuals have been charged in the Western District of Kentucky:
Shafi Abbas, 57, of Pendleton, Kentucky, was charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain over $2.6 million in Medicare funds. According to the information, Abbas, through Aidmen Medical Equipment LLC and Justright Medical Equipment LLC, fraudulently billed Medicare for durable medical equipment, which was medically unnecessary, unwanted by patients, and not prescribed by the patients’ medical providers. Based on those false and fraudulent claims, Medicare paid approximately $1.3 million. In addition, Abbas allegedly transferred offshore the proceeds of health care fraud in a value greater than $10,000. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ansari of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Carissa Uptegraff, 44, of Glasgow, Kentucky, was charged by indictment with theft of medical products. According to the indictment, Uptegraff, a pharmacy employee, stole a pre-retail medical product, oxycodone, which had a value over $5,000. The alleged thefts took place at two different pharmacies prior to the controlled substances being made available for retail purchase by a consumer. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ansari of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Dr. Lawrence Peters, 62, of Louisville, Kentucky, was charged by information with conspiracy to illegally use a Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) registration number issued to another. According to the information, Dr. Lawrence Peters allegedly conspired with others in his medical practice to issue pre-signed and unsigned prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances and further directed his staff to fill the prescriptions at his physician’s owned pharmacy. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Ansari and Chris Tieke of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Tammy Daniels a/k/a Tammy Richardson, 55, of Louisville, Kentucky, was charged by indictment with wire fraud and health care fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain over $750,000 from her employer, a medical practice, and over $422,000 in Medicare funds. According to the indictment, Daniels was employed as the accounts manager for a medical practice when she used the medical practice’s credit cards to purchase personal items, transferred money from the practice’s bank account to pay the credit card invoices, transferred money from the practice’s bank account to pay for other personal credit card purchases, and used her access and position to bill for false and fraudulent medical procedures to pay credit card invoices in order to hide the unlawful use of the credit cards, all without her employer’s knowledge and authorization. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, health care benefit programs, including Medicare, paid over $79,000. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ansari of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Michael Boaz, 45, and Christopher Augustus, 40, of Clinton, Kentucky were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain over $1,000,000 from health care benefit programs. According to the indictment, Boaz and Augustus falsely and fraudulently billed various health care benefit programs for medications dispensed from the Clinton and Bardwell Pharmacies by using material misrepresentations, material omissions, and deception in order to obtain authorization for the medications from physicians and nurse practitioners. In addition, the indictment alleges that Boaz and Augustus knowingly possessed, transferred, or used the means of identification two individuals, a nurse practitioner, and a physician, including the individuals’ names and unique National Provider Identifier numbers, without lawful authority, in relation to the health care fraud. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond McGee of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
