Florida pharmacy executive convicted in $50 million Medicare fraud scheme

FLORIDA – A federal jury has convicted a chief compliance officer within a pharmacy holding company based in Florida for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

Steven King, a 45-year-old resident of Miramar, was convicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, King, was the chief compliance officer of a pharmacy holding company that fraudulently billed Medicare over $50 million for dispensing lidocaine and diabetic testing supplies that Medicare beneficiaries did not need or want.

King and his co-conspirators operated A1C Holdings LLC, based in Hollywood, which held pharmacies in various states, including All American Medical Pharmacy in Warren, Michigan, said the DOJ.

According to the DOJ, when A1C secured prescriptions and refills on behalf of its pharmacies for medically unnecessary lidocaine and diabetic testing supplies, it violated Medicare and pharmacy benefit manager rules.

To perpetuate their fraudulent scheme, the DOJ said King and his co-conspirators allegedly implemented several deceptive tactics, including enrolling their mail order pharmacies as brick-and-mortar retail locations to evade more rigorous oversight, shipping prescription refills for high-reimbursing medications and supplies without patient consent, concealing the ownership of A1C Holdings LLC and its pharmacies, and transferring patients among pharmacies without patient consent.

King and his co-conspirators took these steps to ensure that Medicare continued to be billed for profitable medications and supplies, prosecutors said.

“As chief compliance officer, King was in a unique position to prevent and report the fraudulent scheme, but he used his position to defraud Medicare instead,” the DOJ said.

The jury convicted King of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14, and he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

A federal district court judge will determine King’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI Detroit Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Shankar Ramamurthy and Acting Assistant Chief Andrew Barras of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.