A Florida pharmacist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a compounding pharmacy scheme to defraud Medicare, Tricare and private insurers out of more than $100 million.
Ademola O. Adebayo, 55, of Odessa was convicted in January on one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, three counts of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Department of Justice said in an announcement.
Adebayo and his co-conspirators—eight of whom have also been sentenced—submitted fraudulent claims for several different drugs, pain and scar creams in particular, that were not medically necessary, DOJ said.
In his role at the now-closed A to Z Pharmacy, Adebayo regularly submitted claims for the creams that inflated the price by thousands of dollars, according to DOJ. Between 2012 and 2015, he defrauded insurers for $121 million.
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In 2014, insurers discovered the false claims from A to Z Pharmacy and terminated contracts, DOJ said. Adebayo then became straw owner of Havana Pharmacy and Discount in Miami, where he and co-conspirators continued to submit fraudulent claims.
Adebayo took in $1.5 million in the scheme, which he used to buy several luxury cars, including a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and two Cadillacs, and a home in Land O’ Lakes, Florida. The government seized these assets as a result of the fraud investigation.
In addition to the prison sentence, Adebayo has been ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution.
Seven of the eight previously sentenced co-conspirators have also been hit with jail time, according to DOJ. Nicholas Borgesano, 46, of New Port Richey owned A to Z Pharmacy and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in the case.