| TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced that a Newark pharmacist and
the pharmacy he operated have been indicted
on charges of health care claims fraud and
Medicaid fraud for allegedly submitting
phony prescription claims to the Medicaid
program.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Ademola T. Salami, 50, of Hillside,
a pharmacist licensed in New Jersey, and
the pharmacy he owned and operated, Bethel
Pharmacy Inc., located at 301 Osborne Terrace
in Newark, were indicted yesterday by a
state grand jury on charges of second-degree
health care claims fraud and third-degree
Medicaid fraud.
The indictment alleges that between January
1 and April 10, 2004, Salami, through Bethel
Pharmacy, knowingly submitted claims to
the Medicaid program for 71 false prescriptions
which had a forged doctor’s signature
and had not been prescribed by the doctor.
At least 12 of the prescriptions were allegedly
submitted on forms that had not even been
printed at the time the prescriptions were
purportedly filled. Salami and Bethel Pharmacy
allegedly billed the Medicaid program approximately
$15,145 for the phony prescriptions.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum punishment of 10
years in state prison and a criminal fine
of $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry
a maximum punishment of five years in state
prison and a criminal fine of $15,000. This
matter will also be referred to the New
Jersey Board of Pharmacy for any action
deemed appropriate regarding Salami’s
license. The indictment is merely an accusation
and the defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
State Investigator Michael Rasar and Deputy
Attorney General Deborah Cummis Sandlaufer
handled the case for the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud
Control Unit, which investigates and prosecutes
both civil and criminal Medicaid fraud cases.
The Medicaid Program, which is funded by
the state and federal governments, provides
health care services and prescription drugs
to persons who may not otherwise be able
to afford them.
The
indictment was handed up in Superior Court
in Mercer County. The case was assigned
to Essex County, where the defendants will
be ordered to appear in court to answer
the charges on a date to be determined.
“We
allege that this pharmacist defrauded the
Medicaid program of thousands of dollars
that should have been available to assist
persons who cannot afford health insurance
or health care services,” said Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Brown.
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting the Web at www.NJInsuranceFraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was
established by the Automobile Insurance
Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is
the centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.
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