U.S. Attorneys say Jacksonville pharmacy owner bilked insurers $51M in meds scheme

A Jacksonville pharmacy owner faces federal charges in an alleged $51 million health care fraud scheme that started with offers of free cellphones.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Charlie Griffin III used insurance information collected through the promotions to bill for HIV medications backed by fake diagnoses.

Marketers allegedly offered the cellphones in low-income neighborhoods to obtain residents’ insurance details. Insurers ultimately paid out about $51 million under the scheme, U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida said.

Investigating officials in Kehoe’s office said Griffin kept $14 million of the payout.

Accountant Ethelbert Nwanegbo allegedly laundered the funds for a 10% cut. Both men face up to 20 years in prison per count.

Kehoe highlighted the scheme’s impact on residents while speaking outside the federal courthouse in Downtown Jacksonville.

“Yes, you see all the money that has been stolen, but let us not forget those people from maybe lower socioeconomic areas ... were given a medication that could have jeopardized their health in a serious way,” Kehoe said.

Kehoe said investigators spoke with many of the individuals listed on the billing records.

“The agents interviewed quite a few patients and virtually all of them said, ‘we never asked for it, we never requested it and in many cases, all of a sudden, it showed up on our doorstep and we didn’t know how it didn’t know how it got there,’” Kehoe said.

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