A Georgetown, Kentucky pharmacist has been sentenced to four months in prison and an additional four months of home detention for submitting false claims to Kentucky Medicaid. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove handed down the sentence to Justin Bell, 40, who owned and operated Georgetown Pharmacy.
Bell's plea agreement revealed that his pharmacy dispensed a range of prescription medications, including medicated pads designed to manage and prevent scars from burns and other skin injuries. These scar pads were notably expensive, with Kentucky Medicaid reimbursing over $14,000 for a box of twelve. In March and April 2020, Bell solicited patients on Kentucky Medicaid to receive these scar pads despite their lack of medical necessity. Some patients received the pads without consulting their healthcare providers or using them at all. As a result, Bell's pharmacy submitted eight reimbursement claims to Kentucky Medicaid, leading to payments totaling $118,621.28 for unnecessary prescriptions.
In addition to serving time in prison, Bell has paid restitution to Kentucky Medicaid and was fined $20,000. Under federal law, he is required to serve 85 percent of his prison term. Following his release from incarceration, he will be under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for two years.
The sentencing was announced by Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Olivia Olson, Acting Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Louisville Field Office; and Russell Coleman, Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The investigation into Bell's activities was conducted by the FBI along with the Kentucky Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Smith and Andy Smith.
