10 DECEMBER 23, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
POLICE BEAT
102ND PRECINCT
(KEW GARDENS, RICHMOND HILL EAST, RICHMOND
HILL, WOODHAVEN AND THE NORTHERN PART OF
OZONE PARK)
Cops search for two suspects in
connection with break-ins at
southern Queens homes
Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill are looking for two suspects
that broke into a Woodhaven home last week and stole electronics.
Police say that at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, the two men gained entry
to a residence in the vicinity of 80th Street and 88th Avenue by pushing in an air
conditioner. Once inside, the suspects removed seven laptops from the home and
fl ed, police said.
Investigators believe the two men also struck twice in the early hours of
Sunday, Nov. 14, trying to break into an Ozone Park home at around 5:45 a.m. The
suspects tried to pry open a window with their hands but gave up and fl ed emptyhanded,
Rego Park pharmacist indicted in prescription scam: Feds
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A Rego Park pharmacist was arrested last week
and charged with conspiring to accept kickbacks
in a scam in which he allegedly helped
conceal the processing of more than $30 million in
fraudulent prescription claims, according to federal
prosecutors.
An indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn federal
court charging Bruce Snipas, the owner and pharmacist
in-charge of B&E Pharmaceuticals Inc., with
conspiracy to make false statements in health care
matters and conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback
statute and other charges.
Snipas, 68, of West Islip, Long Island, was arraigned
Tuesday aft ernoon before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Robert M. Levy and he was released on
$150,000 bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Offi
ce for the Eastern District of New York.
As alleged in the indictment, from April 2015 to
February 2018, Sipas conspired with a Florida-based
health care company, known as the Health Care
Company, to conceal that company’s involvement
in processing more than $30 million in fraudulently
obtained prescription claims by B&E from
various health care programs, including New York
Medicaid.
Snipas repeatedly made false claims to federal
and state regulators and pharmacy boards concealing
the Health Care Company’s involvement in the
operations of B&E.
“As alleged, the defendant, a pharmacist and
health care professional, engaged in a fraudulent
scheme to take advantage of the Medicaid program
and profi t by accepting hundreds of thousands of
dollars in kickbacks,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace
said. “This offi ce is committed to protecting the integrity
of government programs, including health
insurance programs like Medicaid that benefi t the
district’s most vulnerable residents.”
In exchange for assisting the Health Care Company
in processing the prescriptions through B&E, Snipas
received approximately $650,000 in kickbacks from
the Heath Care Company, prosecutors said.
“Snipas, as alleged, received hundreds of
Photo via Getty Images
thousands of dollars in kickbacks while helping
a health care company cover up their processing
of fraudulent claims totaling more than $30 million,”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael A.
Driscoll said. “The FBI will continue our eff orts to
protect government-sponsored programs that exist
to serve the interests of those within our community
who need them most and private insurance
programs that exist to serve the interests of those
within our community who need them most and
private insurance programs that are adversely
aff ected by this type of fraud.”
police said.
About 15 minutes later, the two men entered another home on the same block
by opening a window. The suspects removed about $200 in cash and the victim’s
car keys before leaving, police said. They then used the keys to enter the victim’s
Honda Fit and took off . The vehicle was later recovered within the confi nes of the
75th Precinct in Brooklyn, according to authorities.
The NYPD released surveillance video of the two suspects. One suspect was
seen wearing a dark jacket with a fur-lined hood with dark pants and sneakers,
and the other was seen wearing a light-colored hooded jacket and light-colored
sweatpants.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspects is asked
to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish,
888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the
CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
/nypdcrimestoppers.com
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