Two former executives of a Louisiana compounding pharmacy were convicted on March 14 of conspiring to defraud New Jersey and military health benefit programs out of approximately $100 million, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Christopher Kyle Johnston, 46, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Trent Brockmeier, 62, of The Villages, Florida, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, health care fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.
According to court documents, Johnston and Brockmeier took over management of Central Rexall Drugs, a Louisiana-based compounding pharmacy, in 2013.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, they expanded the business to take advantage of high insurance reimbursements for specific pain, scar, and antifungal creams, as well as vitamin combinations.
According to the office, both the New Jersey health benefits program for state and local employees, including teachers, firefighters, and police officers, and TRICARE, which insures military personnel and their families, covered these medications.
According to prosecutors, the defendants manipulated medication ingredients to maximize insurance reimbursements rather than meeting patients’ medical needs, the office confirmed.
According to the office, they instructed pharmacy employees to submit false prescription claims—without valid prescriptions or doctor’s signatures—to test reimbursement rates.
Furthermore, the office stated that Central Rexall used patients’ personal and insurance information from previous prescriptions without their permission, according to court documents.
The office stated that Johnston and Brockmeier maintained a sales force that fraudulently obtained prescriptions by forging signatures, ordering refills without consent, and bribing patients and doctors.
According to the office, the fraud netted Johnston $34 million and Brockmeier $5 million.