Two men, plead guilty in a multi-million dollar compounding pharmacy fraud case.
40-year-old Jason May of Lamar County and Gerald Jay Schaar 46 of Biloxi entered guilty pleas before the judge Wednesday.
May admitted to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering while Schaar plead guilty to soliciting prescriptions from medical professionals as well as conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
May was co-owner and pharmacist in charge of Advantage Pharmacy.
The business received 192 million dollars in reimbursements for compound topical creams from health care benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, a health insurance program for military members, veterans and their families.
May reportedly selected formulas for the compound creams based on reimbursement rates.
Authorities say May received a portion of the reimbursements associated with the fraudulently obtained compound creams and transferred some of those funds into a money market account in his name.
Schaar, who was a marketer for a Lamar County pharmacy, solicited medical professionals to write prescriptions without seeing patients for compound topical creams which the pharmacy dispensed
The U.S. Attorney’s office said Schaar and others later falsified patient records to make it seem as if the medical professionals had examined the patients.
The pharmacy Schaar was working for received $2.3 million in reimbursements for the prescriptions Schaar solicited.
Authorities said the charges against May and Schaar were a result of the largest ever, national health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.
The effort involved 412 charged defendants in 41 federal districts across the country.
“DCIS and our investigative partners remain committed to bringing to justice any individuals who defraud TRICARE, the Department of Defense health care program dedicated to providing medical care to military members and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office, DCIS. “The fraud and corruption uncovered as part of this complex case diverted and wasted precious taxpayer dollars needed for the critical care and well-being of our military members and their families.”
