Louisiana Man Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $3 Million in Restitution for Health Care Fraud
Louisiana Man Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $3 Million in Restitution for Health Care Fraud
Louisiana – Duane A. Evans, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced on April 14, 2022 that Joseph Campo (“Campo”) was sentenced to 28 months in prison and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 after pleading guilty in federal court to his role in a health care fraud conspiracy.
Campo, age 79, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pled guilty on February 25, 2021 before U.S. District Judge Suzy Morgan to Count One of a bill of information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
According to the bill of information, Campo and his co-defendants conspired to knowingly and willfully execute a scheme and artifice to defraud TRICARE, a federal health care benefit program affecting commerce, and other health care benefit programs beginning in or around March 2014 and ending in or around October 2016.
Prime Pharmacy entered into agreements with various entities, including Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”), under which Prime Pharmacy was required to collect copayments from beneficiaries in order to be reimbursed by various health care benefit programs, including TRICARE. Campo collaborated with co-defendants to market Prime Pharmacy’s compounded medications. Campo and his co-conspirators worked with marketers outside of the state to find beneficiaries willing to receive medically unnecessary compounds and doctors willing to prescribe compounds that were not medically necessary.
Beginning in or around March 2014 and continuing through April 2016, Prime Pharmacy dispensed prescriptions for High-Yield Compounded Medications to TRICARE and other health care benefit program beneficiaries that were not medically necessary, were induced by kickback payments, or where copayments were either waived or credited by Prime Pharmacy, and accordingly submitted or caused false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to TRICARE, ot
Campo was also ordered to pay $3 million in restitution to TRICARE.
“Individuals involved in this scheme illegally billed TRICARE out of close to $15 million and I am pleased that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is requiring justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Bruce, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office. “There are no victimless crimes and DCIS agents will continue to pursue unscrupulous greedy individuals who steal from our military health care system and all taxpayers.”
“Those entrusted with providing health care services to veterans and their family members will be held accountable should they violate that trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Breen of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s South Central Field Office. “The VA OIG is grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their efforts to achieve justice in this case.”
The work of the Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General was lauded by U.S. Attorney Evans.
Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn McHugh is in charge of the prosecution.
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