Federal officials have charged seven people across Southern California accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs like Medi-Cal and Medicare of millions of dollars and accused several doctors of using their positions to wrongfully prescribe each other controlled substances, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday, June 23.
The charges are part of a Trump administration effort targeting “fraud, waste and abuse within Federal programs,” the DOJ said in a news release.
Federal law enforcement officials have brought charges against 455 people across the country accused of defrauding healthcare programs and participating in opioid abuse schemes, which they allege have resulted in more than $6.5 million in false claims and patient harm, in some cases causing death.
Those charged in Southern California include Christina Mareik of Whittier, who prosecutors allege participated in a scheme involving nearly $270 million in false claims to Medi-Cal in less than a year. The Medi-Cal claims were made for expensive prescription drugs that contained generic ingredients, weren’t medically necessary and, oftentimes, weren’t given to the listed patients, according to the DOJ said. Mareik was arrested on June 17 and was released on a $100,000 bond.
Mareik, 61, worked for Paul Richard Randall, a patient marketer for Montclair-based Monte VP LLC. Randall worked with Monte Vista Pharmacy owner Kyrollos Mekail to take advantage of a suspension of Medi-Cal’s requirement...
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