creeping
Federal aid programs are a playground for Muslim shysters. via Bronx pharmacy busted in $10M HIV drug buyback scam | New York Post. h/t Lisa
The owners of a Bronx pharmacy bilked the federal government out of
nearly $10 million in the past year — by preying on cash-strapped
Medicaid patients with HIV, convincing them to sell back their
lifesaving drugs, officials said Tuesday.
The suspects then splurged on pricey goodies for themselves such as a Maserati, two BMWs and a Mercedes-Benz, authorities said.
“These defendants abused the fundamental trust between health-care
providers and patients by putting their own greed above the health needs
of the patients,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a written
statement.
“This blatant theft and abuse of one of our state’s most important
health-care programs is reprehensible and will not be tolerated.”
The owners and a pharmacist at 184th Street Pharmacy in University
Heights recruited HIV-stricken patients by offering them $20 to $200 a
pop for their anti-retroviral medication, officials said.
The pharmacy allegedly billed Uncle Sam for thousands of dollars for the same drugs.
The $9.8 million fraud began March 1, 2013, and involved at least
eight illegal drug buybacks between October and February, officials
said.
Busted on felony charges Tuesday were store owners Ahmed
Hamed, 37, of Bayside, Queens, and Tarek Elsayed, 48, of Elmhurst,
Queens, as well as supervising pharmacist Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, 36, of
Elmhurst.
All were charged with grand larceny and
scheming to defraud the government. The two owners also were charged
with money-laundering.
The owners could face up to 18 years if convicted on all charges. Ahmed could get up to seven years.
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