DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – A Dearborn Heights pharmacist and business owner has admitted to running a years-long health care fraud scheme that cost insurers more than $3 million, officials said.
Mohammad Hamdan, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. Authorities said Hamdan orchestrated a five-year scheme involving two separate pharmacies he operated.
Recommended Videos
Hamdan used his pharmacies to submit false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for prescription medications that were either medically unnecessary or never actually dispensed to patients.
In many cases, the pharmacies did not even have the drugs in stock but billed insurers as if the prescriptions had been filled.
In total, Hamdan submitted or directed the submission of more than $3.2 million in fraudulent claims, resulting in losses exceeding $3 million to the health care programs, according to the release.
Hamdan is scheduled to be sentenced after a presentence investigation is completed. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release following any prison term.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Dorval Norwood is handling the prosecution.