NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A former pharmacy owner has been sentenced to prison for stealing over $11.5 million through a Medicaid fraud scheme targeting low-income HIV patients, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday.
Aftab Hussain and his associates paid illegal kickbacks to patients to ensure they used Hussain-owned pharmacies. They then filled prescriptions with unsafe medications bought illegally from the black market or other pharmacy patients, prosecutors said. Medicaid was billed millions for these drugs.
“This predatory scheme stole millions of dollars while denying lifesaving treatment to New Yorkers in need,” James said. “Aftab Hussain exploited and endangered vulnerable New Yorkers with HIV, using them to steal taxpayer funds that provide health care to low-income patients, and now he will pay for his fraud.”
Hussain owned, operated, or controlled over 20 pharmacies in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester County during the scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019.
Prosecutors said Hussain and his employees paid Medicaid recipients with HIV illegal kickbacks, ranging from $25 to $100, to have their prescriptions filled at Hussain-controlled pharmacies. They often bought back the HIV medications from patients for cash, offering $100 to $200 per bottle, while the wholesale price of the medications ranged between $2,000 and $3,000.
As a result, many patients went without medication, putting them at risk of life-threatening complications from HIV, prosecutors said.
Hussain and his associates also purchased HIV medications through black market channels and dispensed them to unsuspecting patients. They submitted Medicaid reimbursement claims as if the drugs had been purchased legally and dispensed safely.
Four corporations owned or controlled by Hussain, including Harlem Super Pharmacy Inc., Health Smart Pharmacy Inc., Broadway RX Enterprises Inc., and E-Green Pharmacy Inc. (doing business as WinHealth Pharmacy), were also charged. RX Enterprises Inc. and E-Green Pharmacy Inc. pleaded guilty and were sentenced on Oct. 16. As part of their sentence, the corporations must dissolve.
Hussain was convicted of Grand Larceny, Health Care Fraud, Scheme to Defraud, and Conspiracy. He was also required to pay $7 million in restitution to the state as part of a settlement agreement.
New Yorkers can report suspected fraud to the Attorney General’s toll-free Medicaid Fraud Hotline, at (800) 771-7755 or online.
Hussain was the last defendant to be sentenced in an investigation that included the arrest and conviction of five other defendants along with two pharmacies located throughout New York City.