Press Release
☷South Hills Pharmacist Sentenced to Prison for Prescription Drug Fraud Scheme
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
May 05,2022
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South Hills Pharmacist Sentenced to Prison for Prescription Drug Fraud Scheme PITTSBURGH , PA - A resident of Venetia , Pennsylvania , has been sentenced in federal court to one year in prison , two years of supervised release , a fine of $10 , 000 , and ordered to pay $649 , 524 in restitution on his conviction of obtaining controlled substances by fraud , misbranding of drugs , and health care fraud conspiracy , United States Attorney Cindy K . Chung announced today . Senior United States District Judge David Steward Cercone imposed the sentence on Timothy W . Forester , 46 . Forester pled guilty on September 17 , 2021 . Forester owned and operated four pharmacies in the Pittsburgh region . Forester would order scheduled narcotics , mostly oxycodone and hydrocodone , from suppliers , intercept those deliveries , falsify pharmacy inventories and transport the drugs to his residence , where he would consume them . In addition , Forester would place labels for brand named drugs on bottles of generic drugs , and bill insurance companies and customers as if the drugs were the higher priced brand drugs . Finally , he would change the computer billing codes for drugs to falsely represent to payors that the drugs were brand , resulting in a much higher reimbursement . Assistant United States Attorney Robert S . Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government . The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit , which combines personnel and resources from the following agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic: Federal Bureau of Investigation , U . S . Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General , Drug Enforcement Administration , Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations , Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit , United States Postal Inspection Service , U . S . Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division , Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit , Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General , Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing .
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