Attorney General William Tong announced Friday that a Florida-based pharmacy will pay $39 million in damages following its role in a multimillion-dollar prescription drug kickback scheme.
Tong’s office said a Hartford Superior Court judge made the decision after ruling that Assured Rx, LLC was involved in a kickback scheme involving illegal payments to retired state employees for expensive prescriptions for compounded medications.
The scheme reportedly began in 2018 with retired Department of Correction employee Nicholas Maulucci and his ex-wife Lisette Martinez, who worked at the pharmacy, allegedly recruiting and paying retired state employees to obtain expensive prescriptions for compounded medications that were covered by the Connecticut State Employee and Retiree Pharmacy. Benefit plan, according to Tong. The taxpayer-funded plan provides prescription drug benefits to enrolled state employees and eligible family members.
In total, a judge found that Assured Rx, LLC received at least $2.6 million in kickbacks to scheme beneficiaries who caused their doctors to order expensive compounded medications, including topical scar creams and pain creams, costing state taxpayers nearly $10 million in reimbursements , the judge said. to a press release.
“This is a major victory for Connecticut taxpayers,” Tong said. “These defendants orchestrated an elaborate kickback scheme that cost the state nearly $10 million dollars. This decision – which imposes $39 million in treble damages and civil penalties – sends a clear message that this state will not tolerate the misuse of public funds. I would like to thank the entire investigation team for their diligent, determined work on this case.”
Tong’s office said the state amended the original complaint in 2020 to individually name Nitesh Patel, a licensed pharmacist who was the sole owner of Assured Rx. But while the court found Assured Rx liable as a corporate defendant, the court did not find Patel individually liable, the attorney general’s office said.
“Connecticut taxpayers and public employees deserve a health care system that is transparent and fair, and this ruling underscores our commitment across the state to root out fraudulent behavior and hold bad actors accountable,” said Comptroller Sean Scanlon. “I commend Attorney General Tong and his team, as well as my predecessors, former Comptroller Kevin Lembo and former Director of Health Care Policy and Benefits Tom Woodruff, for their dedicated work to stop this abuse and deliver justice to Connecticut taxpayers.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
