NJ pharmacy bilked Medicare, other insurers out of $65M in phony prescriptions, feds say
A manager at a New Jersey pharmacy pleaded guilty to federal charges Friday in a wide-ranging scheme to steal $65 million from Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurers for prescription medication that the manager and others never purchased from wholesalers, federal authorities announced.
Ruben Sevumyants, 40, of Marlboro, is the third employee of the now-closed Prime Aid Pharmacy in Union City to plead guilty to federal charges involving a conspiracy to fraudulently bill insurers along with bribing doctors. The pharmacy processed expensive medications used to treat hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments.
Sevumyants and others turned the "health insurance system into an ATM," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement.
Sevumyants, who was operations manager at Prime Aid Union City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton to conspiring to commit health care fraud and conspiring to violate the federal anti-kickback statute.
Crime: Series of lawsuits against North Jersey real estate influencers allege history of fraud
Prime Aid Union City received $65 million in reimbursement payments from government and private insurers for medications that the staff never ordered or had in stock at the pharmacy, according to an indictment against four of the defendants.
"We all end up footing the bills for fraudsters because our premiums go up to cover the cost of their crimes," James Dennehy, who heads the FBI's Newark Office, said in a statement.
Along with the phony bills, Sevumyants and others bribed doctors and their employees with cash, wire transfers and expensive meals to steer prescriptions to the pharmacy, according to prosecutors.
Other workers at the pharmacy have already pleaded guilty. Alex Fleyshmakher pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy in January 2021 and is awaiting sentencing. Igor Fleyshmakher was sentenced in 2021 to 41 months in prison after pleading guilty.
Charges are still pending against two other defendants.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ pharmacy manager pleads guilty to Medicare fraud scheme
