Former firefighters get prison terms for roles in prescription scam

CAMDEN – Two former firefighters have received prison terms for their roles in a health care fraud conspiracy, including an eight-year sentence for one.

Thomas Sher, 50, of Northfield and Christopher Broccoli, 51, of West Deptford recruited public employees who submitted claims for unnecessary and costly compound-medicine prescriptions to their health insurers, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey.

Sher, a Margate firefighter, helped to recruit almost 70 people into the scheme, which took more than $7 million from a pharmacy benefits administrator, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

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Sher received about $115,000 from the scheme, it said.

Broccoli, a member of Camden’s fire department, received about $150,000 from the scam.

Prison terms for compound medication scheme

Each man was sentenced July 12, by U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler in Camden federal court.

The eight-year term went to Sher, who was found guilty at trial last year of three counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud.

Kugler found at the sentencing hearing that Sher obstructed justice by lying during testimony, and trying to tamper with witnesses and devise a cover-up story prior to the trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Broccoli, who admitted guilt to a conspiracy charge under a plea agreement, received a two-year prison term.

Attorneys for Sher and Broccoli could not be reached for comment.

Fifty people have been charged in connection with the scam, and all but four have admitted guilt or been convicted at trial, the statement said.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Thomas Sher, Christopher Broccoli imprisoned for roles in fraud scheme