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COURIER L 12 IFE, MAR. 26-APR. 1, 2021
Gravesend
pharmacist charged
in healthcare
fraud scheme
A Gravesend pharmacist has been charged in connection to
an insurance kickback scheme. Pexels/Kevin Bidwell
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A pharmacist with
ties to Brooklyn and
Queens was arrested
Wednesday for allegedly
running an insurance
kickback scheme and
using the funds to bribe
customers and buy luxury
items.
Robert Sabet, 44, was
charged with conspiracy
to commit health care
fraud, conspiracy to defraud
the United States
by paying kickbacks
and bribes in connection
with the provision of
health care services, and
unlawfully spending the
proceeds of his fraud. He
is the owner of Brooklyn
Chemists in Gravesend,
Brooklyn, and Lucky
Care Pharmacy in Flushing,
Queens.
“The defendant’s alleged
participation in
health care fraud, and
his payment of kickbacks
and bribes, corrupted
the trusted relationship
between pharmacies
and patients, and potentially
harmed the very
people that the Medicare
and Medicaid programs
are intended to serve,”
stated Acting US Attorney
Seth DuCharme.
According to court
documents, since September
2016, Sabet allegedly
conspired to bill
Medicare and Medicaid
for expensive prescription
drugs that were not
eligible for reimbursement
because they were
not needed or not dispensed.
He would also
allegedly conspire to pay
kickbacks and bribes to
his customers in an effort
to convince them to
fi ll prescriptions at his
pharmacies, giving them
cash in exchange for billing
Medicare and Medicaid
for over-the-counter
healthcare-related products
on their behalf.
In December 2020,
Sabet allegedly wired
$100,000 from the accounts
of Lucky Care to
a car dealership to pay
for a luxury vehicle. A
search warrant of Sabet’s
home, which led to
his arrest, allegedly uncovered
a 2020 Porsche
Taycan, valued at over
$250,000, as well as other
luxury goods and cash.
“Particularly as we
continue to recover from
the COVID pandemic,
individuals who commit
Medicaid fraud prey on
the most vulnerable New
Yorkers, threaten the viability
of programs that
provide vital health care
services, and steal taxpayer
dollars,” said Acting
Inspector General
Frank Walsh, of the Offi
ce of the Medicaid Inspector
General. “My offi
ce will continue to work
closely with our partners
in law enforcement
to hold fully accountable
those who seek to exploit
the Medicaid program
for personal gain.”
If convicted, Sabet
faces up to 10 years in
prison for conspiracy
to commit health care
fraud, fi ve years in
prison for conspiracy to
pay kickbacks and bribes
and 10 years in prison for
unlawful spending.
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