Two Nassau County pharmacies have been charged in an alleged $8 million healthcare fraud scheme involving prescription medications that were billed to government and private insurance programs but never dispensed, Nassau County police said.
RNJ Pharmacy Inc. of Freeport and Jericho Express Rx Inc. of Floral Park allegedly submitted approximately $8 million in fraudulent pharmaceutical claims and received about $5 million in payments, according to investigators.
The charges stem from Operation RX Hammer, an investigation conducted by the Nassau County Police Department’s Asset Forfeiture Unit with assistance from multiple state and federal agencies.
Police said the pharmacies submitted claims for expensive prescription medications, with a substantial portion of the billing involving Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies.
According to detectives, the claims were submitted without the knowledge or consent of the prescribing physicians or the patients whose information was used. The medications associated with those claims were never dispensed.
RNJ Pharmacy Inc. faces charges of second-degree healthcare fraud, second-degree grand larceny and three counts of first-degree identity theft.
Jericho Express Rx Inc. faces charges of second-degree healthcare fraud, second-degree grand larceny and two counts of first-degree identity theft.
The investigation involved the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the New York State Comptroller’s Division of Investigations.
Nassau County police also announced plans to establish the PHANTOM Task Force to investigate similar schemes involving fraudulent pharmacy billing, healthcare fraud and identity theft.
Police did not identify any individual defendants or provide arraignment dates in the announcement.
Photo: RNJ Pharmacy in Freeport and Jericho Express Rx in Floral Park face healthcare fraud, grand larceny and identity theft charges in an alleged $8 million prescription billing scheme. (Nassau County Police Department)
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