American Society for Pharmacy Law Track

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September 18, 2018

FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE
Federal Jury finds South Florida pharmacist guilty of health care fraud
According to a report in the ABA Health Law Section News, a Florida pharmacist, Stephen Chalker, was found guilty on September 7 of health care fraud for his participation in a compounding scheme allegedly amounting to $5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, TRICARE, and Medicaid. According to the report, Chalker submitted individual claims for “several thousand dollars” each for “a single tube of pain and scar cream that patients did not want, did not need, and, in some cases, did not receive.” Chalker was also found to have “orchestrated a nationwide telemarketing scheme lacking bona fide patient-prescriber relationships or the delivery of actual patient care.” [Taylor ME, South Florida pharmacist convicted of fraud for compounding pharmacy scheme.  ABA Health Law Section News 2018 Sep 13; https://bit.ly/2MIkjyh; United States of America v. Stephen Chalker, No. 18-CR-60167-DMM, S.D. Fla., September 7, 2018]