Houston pharmacy owner arrested in $134 million Medicare fraud scheme and more

Houston pharmacy owner arrested in $134 million Medicare fraud scheme

A Houston, Texas, pharmacy owner and his accountant were arrested March 9 on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud to the tune of $134 million. (See Houston pharmacy owner charged in $134 million fraud scheme that paid for fancy cars, gambling debts, feds say, by Michelle Homer, KHOU11, March 9, 2021.)

According to the article, the indictment alleges that from late 2013 through March 2020, 4M pharmacies, owned by Mohamed Mokbel, 56, collectively received millions of dollars in payments from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies based on fraudulent claims.

The funds were allegedly used, in part, to pay for Mokbel’s $1.5 million residence, a Ferrari, a Bentley and $15 million in gambling and casino expenses. According to the article, federal agents also say Mokbel transferred and controlled more than $6 million in health care fraud proceeds in CD accounts at banks.

Mokbel and 4M Pharmaceuticals’ accountant, Fathy Elsafty, 62, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud and four counts of money laundering.

What do the Italian mafia and agriculture have in common? Possible fraud

Close to 100 suspected Italian mafiosi and their accomplices are standing trial, accused of defrauding the European Union out of millions of euros. (See Italian mafia trial could expose underbelly of massive EU fraud, by Hannah Roberts, Politico, March 4.)

According to the article, the trial is expected to reconstruct an integrated system through which prosecutors say mob clans and their associates targeted 55 billion euros in farm subsidies the EU pays out annually. Officials claim accountants, politicians and government employees also are involved in the theft of 10 million euros in EU agricultural funds.

The proceedings are likely to last at least a year, with 97 defendants, 90 lawyers and up to 1,000 witnesses. The defendants have been accused of such crimes as fraud, false statements, extortion, creating fake companies for illegal gain, drug pushing and stealing livestock. According to the article, the investigating judge proclaimed it “a colossal fraud exploiting the EU funding on a huge scale and to perfection.”

Painted stones are not the new copper

A commodities trader was duped into buying a shipment of painted stones, thinking it was copper. The trader paid 26 million pounds before shipments started arriving in China, and the trader realized they consisted of spray-painted stones. (See Commodities trader pays £26m for shipment of painted stones thinking it is copper, by Stuti Mishra, The Independent, March 10.)

According to the article, Mercuria Energy Group, a Geneva-based multi-national trading company, bought 10,000 tons of copper blisters last summer from Turkish supplier Bietsan Bakir. The cargo went through a strict security and inspection controls process, yet it was only at its China destination that officials finally discovered it wasn’t copper.

The Swiss trader is seeking redress in Turkish and U.K. courts and has launched a civil suit, according to the article. Turkish police also have arrested 14 people in connection to the case.