If possible, these scumbags should be deported as well. Why shouldn't they get the death penalty or life in prison? I think that's a fair question since it is akin to premeditated murder.

3rd pharmacist pleads guilty in HIV drug rip-off

Monday, June 15, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The third of three owners of a Jersey City pharmacy has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme that took advantage of HIV/AIDS patients by buying their signed prescriptions, not dispensing their medicine, and then billing Medicaid as if they had, officials said.

Shahid Mahmood, 49, of Jersey City, a co-owner of MLK Pharmacy on Martin Luther King Drive, pleaded guilty Thursday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan to health care claims fraud, state Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown said.

Mahmood admitted that between January 2005 and October 2007 he submitted fictitious bills to the Medicaid program claiming MLK Pharmacy dispensed HIV/AIDS medicines and other drugs. In reality, the patients never received their medication.

An investigation led by the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit revealed MLK Pharmacy and Ampere Pharmacy in East Orange fraudulently billed Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prescription drugs.

John Borges, 45, and Abdul Bari, 54, co-owners of MLK Pharmacy and Ampere Pharmacy, pleaded guilty to health care claims fraud and filing a false or fraudulent New Jersey income tax return.

On Dec. 5, Callahan sentenced Bari to three years in prison and ordered him to pay $500,000 in fines and restitution. When Borges is sentenced Wednesday, prosecutors will recommend he serve three years in prison and pay $750,000 in restitution, fines and forfeited assets.

Mahmood is scheduled for sentencing July 23 and prosecutors will recommend he serve three years in state prison and pay $216,220 in restitution and fines, officials said.

AIDS scam pharmacist: I'm guilty

Friday, August 29, 2008
By SUSAN K. LIVIO
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

A co-owner of pharmacies in East Orange and Jersey City pleaded guilty yesterday to fraudulently billing Medicaid for HIV and AIDS drugs that were never dispensed to patients, Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.

John Borges, 44, of Piscataway, pleaded guilty in Essex County Superior Court and faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 6. He also agreed to repay $500,000 in restitution and forfeit more than $260,000 seized by the state.

His co-conspirator, Abdul Bari, 53, of Nutley, who also owned the MLK Pharmacy in Jersey City and Ampere Pharmacy in East Orange, pleaded guilty to the same offenses on Aug. 19.

He also faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 10. He must forfeit about $300,000 and pay $327,000 in fines.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found the pharmacy owners had purchased the prescriptions "for a small fraction of the cost" and billed Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of dollars without dispensing the drugs between January 2005 and October 2007, according to a statement by the Attorney General's Office.

Both men also admitted they filed false tax returns from 2004 through 2006.

"By defrauding the Medicaid program, these defendants not only stole tax dollars, they stole from a program dedicated to providing health care coverage for persons who otherwise could not afford it," Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown said.

Anonymous tipsters who suspect fraud may report it to 1-877-55-FRAUD or at njinsurancefraud.org. An award may be paid to someone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction.


Email to a friend Send To A Friend Print this! Print This
Reddit Reddit Digg Digg del.icio.us del.icio.us Google Google

Quote:

I agree, the headline is crazy!

These HIV patients are criminals too.

If I had to guess, it probably went like this: HIV patient goes to a doctor, gets their meds. Then HIV patient goes to ANOTHER doctor, gets another scrip. Fills one, sells the other.

But I guess the "Victim" theme makes for a better story in the JJ.

People get desperate, but I don't know that they would basically kill themselves over a couple bucks when there are other options.

In the end it's the taxpayers that got hosed.

As far as how he got caught- Someone got pissed at the deal and ratted, or Medicare spoke to the drug reps & found that the pharmacy wasn't taking delivery of nearly as much medication as they were billing for, or Medicare somehow caught it themselves with a system of some sort that tracks what Medicare client is billing for what.

Regardless of how it happened, the HIV patients are not victims here. They didn't suddenly become brain dead children when they caught HIV. They made a decision to rip off their fellow citizens. They should be prosecuted as well. The only question is, and it's not even a relevant one, is whether or not they ripped off the government & were idiots or ripped off the government & were total suicidal idiots.

Guy should be jailed for a long time.


GWB

Kept HIV patients off pills to feed his greed

Friday, August 22, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City pharmacy owner has pleaded guilty to taking advantage of the seriously ill by buying signed prescriptions from HIV/AIDS patients, not giving them their medicine, and then billing Medicaid as if he had dispensed the drugs, officials said.

Abdul Bari, 53, of Nutley, one of the owners of M.L.K. Pharmacy on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City and Ampere Pharmacy in East Orange, pleaded guilty Tuesday to health care claims fraud and filing a fraudulent state tax return, said Attorney General Anne Milgram in a press release.

Shahid Mahmood, 47, of Jersey City, who was a manager and pharmacy technician at Ampere Pharmacy, was also arrested and the charges against him are still pending, Attorney General's Office spokesman Peter Aseltine said yesterday.

According to prosecutors, Bari would offer patients relatively small amounts of money for their prescriptions, the patients would agree not to get their medicine in exchange for the cash, and then Bari would bill Medicaid under the pretense that he had in fact filled the prescriptions.

Bari admitted before state Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan that between January 2005 and October 2007 he fraudulently billed for hundreds of thousands of dollars in HIV/AIDS drugs that he never dispensed, officials said.

The desperate and seriously ill patients went without their specialized medications in exchange for a few dollars, officials said.

"Abuse of the Medicaid program is a particularly disturbing crime," said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown.

"Not only does such fraud involve theft of tax dollars, it involves theft from a program that assists persons who cannot afford health insurance or health care services. Such cases are a priority for the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor."

In October, the Attorney General's Office also seized assets from Bari valued at approximately $300,000, including a parcel of real estate, $173,000 in bank accounts and two vehicles.

Bari agreed to forfeit all seized assets and to pay an additional $327,000. Restitution in the amount of $301,000 will be paid to the Medicaid program from the total settlement with Bari, official said.

Under the plea agreement, Bari faces three years in prison and he is scheduled to be sentenced by Callahan on Oct. 10.