Nicholas J. Ganjei United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
Multiple individuals have been sentenced for their involvement in a conspiracy involving kickbacks for prescription referrals, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
John Ageudo Rodriguez, 55, Mohammad Imtiaz Chowdhury, 44, Hector de la Cruz Jr., 54, all from Edinburg, and Alex Flores Jr., 55, from McAllen, had previously admitted guilt.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Rodriguez to 60 months in federal prison. De La Cruz and Flores received sentences of 46 months each, while Chowdhury was given a 30-month term. Each individual will also serve three years of supervised release after completing their prison terms.
Rodriguez, a former licensed pharmacist who owned Pharr Family Pharmacy, collaborated with several marketers—including Chowdhury, De La Cruz, and Flores—to pay kickbacks to medical providers for referring prescriptions to his pharmacy. He then billed benefit programs such as the Department of Labor, TRICARE, and Medicare for millions in claims. Between 2014 and 2016, his pharmacy submitted over $110 million in claims to federal health care programs for compound drugs.
"Illegal kickbacks are the engine that drives health care fraud," stated Ganjei. "Our office will aggressively pursue fraud, waste, and abuse that cost taxpayers millions if not billions every year."
The defendants were allowed to remain on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility yet to be determined.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Labor-OIG, FBI, Department of Defense-Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Department of Veteran Affairs-OIG, Department of Health and Human Services-OIG and Texas Health and Human Services-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Swartz prosecuted the case.
