A Texas pharmacist has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit a record-breaking $405 million for his involvement in a huge healthcare fraud conspiracy.
Dehshid “David” Nourian, 62, of Plano, was convicted on February 21st to 17 years and six months in jail and ordered to pay nearly $115 million in reparations. The forfeiture order, issued on March 6th, is the largest ever obtained by the Department of Justice’s Healthcare Fraud Unit.
According to prosecution filings and trial testimony, Nourian and his co-conspirators planned to cheat the Department of Labor by filing false claims for medically unnecessary compound creams. They paid doctors millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to prescribe these pricey creams, which were then filled in pharmacies owned and controlled by Nourian and his accomplices.
Evidence revealed that these complex creams were produced by inexperienced youths in filthy conditions and billed to the government at astronomical charges, sometimes as high as $16,000 per prescription, although costing just about $15 to make. Patients attested to the creams’ ineffectiveness, with some even reporting unpleasant responses.
“Protecting victims and safeguarding the public fisc are two of the Criminal Division’s highest priorities,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This 17-year sentence sends a clear message that our prosecutors, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our investigative partners, will identify, investigate, and prosecute even the most sophisticated fraud schemes that target taxpayer money and endanger patients.”
The conspiracy, which lasted from 2014 to 2017, resulted in over $145 million in fraudulent billing to the Department of Labor and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Nourian and his co-conspirators attempted to evade $24 million in federal income taxes by laundering the earnings through a complicated network of bank accounts and dummy corporations.
The forfeited $405 million comprises funds from brokerage accounts, bank accounts, real estate in Dallas and Austin, and a luxury car.
Multiple agencies examined this matter, including the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.