Assets of Defendants convicted in U.S. v. Bradley also used to satisfy $39.5 million forfeiture order and approximately $15 million in fines
SAVANNAH, GA - United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver announced today the payment of over $27 million in restitution to the victims of the largest fraud case ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Georgia, United States v. Martin J. Bradley III, et al., Case No. 405-059 (S.D. Ga.).
The Bradley case involved the dismantling of a criminal enterprise dealing in blood derivative prescription drugs obtained by fraud and through the black market, then resold through Bio-Med Plus (Bio-Med), then the largest privately held secondary wholesaler of blood derivatives in the country. Martin Bradley III and Martin Bradley, Jr. were the leaders of the corrupt enterprise who orchestrated fraud schemes from Georgia to Florida to California, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and elsewhere, with shell companies and offshore accounts used to perpetrate and conceal the schemes. After a lengthy investigation, a grand jury sitting in Savannah returned a 288-Count RICO indictment alleging a dozen different schemes to defraud Medicare, Medicaid programs, drugs manufacturers and others of tens-of-millions of dollars worth of prescription drugs essential to the lives of cancer patients and those suffering from AIDS, hemophilia and other illnesses. After a six-week trial held in Savannah, the jury convicted the Bradleys and Bio-Med of racketeering, money laundering and related charges. Bio-Med was forfeited to the Government and the Bradleys received stiff prison sentences, 25 years for Bradley III and 15 years for Bradley, Jr. The Court also entered a restitution order of over $27.8 million; a forfeiture judgment of $39.5 million; and fines totaling over $30 million against the Bradleys and Bio-Med.
A federal receiver was appointed to liquidate the assets of the Bradleys after their convictions. More than $60 million in assets were liquidated, including jet planes, automobile
collections, yachts, vacation homes and office buildings. As part of the liquidation, the assets of Bio-Med were also sold.
After the Defendants’ direct appeal rights were exhausted, the Government moved the Court to direct that restitution be made to all victims of the Bradley case. As a result, the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of Georgia this week forwarded United States Treasury checks in the following amounts to the following victims: $2,738,373.50 to Medicare; $10,117,601.03 to Florida Medicaid; $10,419,801.96 to the Genetically Handicapped Persons Program; $2,260,514.01 to Medi-Cal; and, $353,338.52 to Blue Shield of California. An additional $1,907,975.53 will be provided to the SCEET. In addition to the payments of restitution, proceeds from the liquidation of the Bradleys’ assets have been used to satisfy the $39.5 million forfeiture judgment and approximately $15 million of the fines imposed.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver stated, “Restitution payments made this week to the victims of the Bradley case represent the largest payment of restitution in the history of the Southern District of Georgia. This is the culmination of an enormous effort by agents and prosecutors to put an end to a corrupt enterprise that sold prescription drugs with fabricated pedigrees and unknown histories to hospitals, pharmacies and doctors nationwide. No matter how complex the scheme, our mission is to investigate and prosecute criminal enterprises intent upon stealing from the taxpayers of the United States. Let this case serve as notice to any would-be fraudster that the end of the road not only involves a lengthy prison sentence but also the return of your ill-gotten gains."
The investigation of the Bradley case was led by FDA-OIG Special Agent Pamela Chambers and IRS-CI Special Agent Michael Palmer. Agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit also assisted with the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys James D. Durham, Jeffrey J. Buerstatte, Frederick W. Kramer III, Joseph D. Newman and R. Brian Tanner prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
