A well known pharmacist in Janesville, Wisconsin was arrested and charged with 46 counts of Medicaid and Medicare fraud. Federal agents with the Department of Health and Human Services charged pharmacist Mark Johnson with bilking state and federal taxpayers of $1 million. Charges include Medicaid and Medicare fraud, making false statements and identity theft.
According to court records, Johnson is the owner of Kealey Pharmacy and Home Care. He was released after processing and will be arraigned within a week.
The indictment claims that Johnson defrauded Medicare and Medicaid between January 2008 and March of 2014. He was caught during an audit by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. As part of his alleged scheme to defraud the government, prosecutors say he:
- Submitted claims for medication that was never provided to beneficiaries.
- Created false prescription orders and submitted them for reimbursement, causing the payment of approximately $1 million by Medicare and Medicaid to him.
- Lied to auditors of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
- misused the federal Drug Enforcement Administration numbers and national provider identifiers assigned to local physicians in order to create fictitious physician prescription orders to support the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid.
During the audit, regulators questioned Johnson about prescriptions that had been billed to the state Medicaid program and dispensed to a patient named “R.S.” According to the indictment, that patient had died. Prosecutors claim that Johnson lied when claiming “R.S.” had received the prescriptions. They also claim he provided forged signatures.
If convicted of all charges, Johnson faces 390 years in prison on the Medicare fraud charges alone. The false statement charges carry up to 5 years each. identity theft charges carry minimum two year sentences. Overall he could face 400 years in prison although typical sentences are much lower. Johnson is 55 years old.
Medicaid and Medicare are funded by taxpayers. When someone defrauds either program, all taxpayers suffer. Beyond the loss of tax dollars, patients suffer too. There simply aren’t enough healthcare dollars available to provide services to everyone that needs them. In many areas of the country that means waiting lists. There is no reason that truly needed patients should go without care while some bad apples line their pockets.
Medicare Fraud and the False Claim Act
More than 3/4ths of healthcare fraud cases in the United States are brought to light by whistleblowers. Although the charges in this case were brought after Johnson allegedly lied to auditors, even the auditors rely on whistleblower tips.
In most instances the whistleblower is an insider – a current or former employee who has first hand knowledge of the fraud. Under the federal False Claims Act, these insiders can earn a whistleblower award of up to 30% of what the government collects from the wrongdoer. Because damages can be tripled, the awards too can be quite large.
There are two ways of earning an award. Calling Medicare’s fraud hotline can earn you an award of up to $1000. Filing a False Claims Act case, however, can help you receive up between 15% and 30% of what the government collects. Million dollar awards are not uncommon.
Most tips come through the federal hotline. Unfortunately, many hotline callers simply don’t know about the False Claims Act (also called a qui tam lawsuit). Others think that filing a qui tam complaint is difficult or expensive.
The lawyers at MahanyLaw can take all the cost and hassle out of the qui tam process. We handle the investigation, file the complaint, pay all costs and even prosecute the case on behalf of the government. You only pay us if we win and recover money for you.
The False Claims Act also has anti-retaliation provisions that protect whistleblowers still employed by the wrongdoer. Filing a complaint under the False Claims Act can better protect you from retaliation.
Need more information? Our consultations are free, without obligation and confidential. All communications with us are protected by the attorney – client privilege. We have helped our whistleblower clients recover over $100,000,000.00
For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at *protected email* or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct).
MahanyLaw – America’s Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Lawyers
*Criminal defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. At this stage in the process, the claims against Mark Johnson are only allegations.
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