Ocean Springs businessman pleads guilty to federal charge related to hoarding COVID-19 PPE
Ocean Springs businessman Kenneth Ritchey appeared in federal court Wednesday in Gulfport to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy in his six-count indictment accusing him of hoarding personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.
The purchases were made between January 2020 and April 2020 — in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when supplies were in high demand — when Gulf Coast Pharmaceuticals Plus began selling the medical supplies for inflated prices to hospitals and medical facilities in desperate need.
"As healthcare providers were overwhelmed with cases of COVID-19 infections, and as PPE became scarce and in high demand, Ritchey and his co-conspirators artificially inflated the sale price of the PPE, well above prevailing market prices, and price-gouged healthcare providers desperate to acquire PPE, including those administered by the (Veterans Administration)," the indictment says.
Kenneth Ritchey files for a change of plea hearing. Click here to read details.
Ritchey, who turns 60 this month, appeared before U.S. District Judge Halil "Sul" Ozerden in the Dan M. Russell Jr. Federal Courthouse, where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.
He will be sentenced in July. Ritchey faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In addition to allegedly hoarding and price gouging PPE, Ritchey was accused of conspiring with others to defraud healthcare benefits providers of more than $600,000 in a case that preceded the pandemic, the indictment says.
Although that conspiracy is not related to the hoarding case, Ritchey was charged for both in one indictment. With his guilty plea, the remaining charges will be dismissed.
"Ritchey and his co-conspirators supplied false and fraudulent purchase documentation to health care benefit programs in an effort to subvert insurance audits performed on pharmacies that had billed for products that were not actually dispensed to customers, or even carried in stock at the pharmacies," according to court documents.
New era in Mississippi healthcare fraud?Court records show this Ocean Springs man is at the center.
Click here to read Kenneth Ritchey's full indictment filed in federal court.
At least one other person charged in that case has pleaded guilty. Texas pharmacist Jada Gilbert pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. She was accused of filing claims for reimbursement for a number of high-priced scar treatment medications she allegedly purchased from Ritchey's pharmaceutical company.
The Sun Herald reported there are 12 alleged co-conspirators in the healthcare fraud case, including Ritchey and Gilbert.
Gilbert is scheduled to be sentenced in May. Her sentencing hearing was postponed because she was expected to testify against Ritchey if his case had gone to trial in April.
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Click here to read why Kenneth Ritchey wanted federal charges separated in PPE hoarding, pharmaceuticals fraud cases.
Ritchey pleaded guilty in 2021 to state charges of price gouging. He was given a five-year suspended sentence in exchange for his plea.
Ritchey is not the first Mississippian accused of crimes involving personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.
USA TODAY:NY man charged with hoarding tons of protective gear; jacking up price on masks and gowns
Chad Paul Jacob, 56, of Biloxi pleaded guilty in September 2021 to theft of government property, including personal protective equipment, medical equipment and electronic devices during and before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Jacob was sentenced to one year in prison with three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $23,584.48 in restitution and a $40,000 fine.
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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mississippi man pleads guilty to conspiracy in COVID-19 PPE hoarding
