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Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor and New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill announced today the arrest and indictment of six individuals in connection with an investigation that involved more than 50 sales of crack cocaine and heroin in the vicinity of the West 123rd Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem.
Each of the six defendants is charged in a separate indictment filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. The arrests followed a long-term investigation by the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Manhattan North Narcotics. Arraignments are scheduled for this afternoon before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Felicia A. Mennin, Part 22, 111 Centre Street. The defendants face charges of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree.
The investigation began in response to community complaints about persistent drug trafficking in the vicinity of 225 West 123rd Street. The defendants allegedly congregated in groups to sell narcotics on the block and impeded the ability of passersby, including school children, to safely use the sidewalks. At least five schools are located within a three-block radius of the block. Peak times for conducting drug sales fell between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Beginning in June of 2017, loosely affiliated narcotics dealers allegedly made more than 50 sales of crack cocaine and heroin to an NYPD undercover officer. On some days multiple defendants sold to the undercover officer in rapid succession. In instances when one dealer was low on supply, he would refer customers to another dealer nearby.
During the investigation, defendant NANA POKU allegedly conducted 17 sales of crack cocaine and heroin to the undercover officer, the most of all of the defendants. Defendant GARY REID allegedly served as a heroin supplier for POKU. Aside from POKU and REID, the other defendants exclusively sold crack cocaine to the undercover officer.
In conjunction with the arrests this morning, members of the NYPD’s Manhattan North Narcotics conducted court authorized searches of three apartments, including POKU’s residence at 135 West 123rd Street. POKU was in his bedroom when police arrived. From underneath his mattress, police recovered two handguns. Quantities of suspected crack cocaine were found scattered around the apartment. Defendant DARREN SQUIRE was also arrested inside POKU’s residence.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked her office’s Trial Division, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. and the NYPD’s Manhattan North Narcotics.
“I hope these arrests give relief to the beleaguered residents of West 123rd Street. School children and people on their way home from a long day at work had to push past dealers clogging sidewalks, making them feel uneasy in their own neighborhood,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Brennan. “In search warrants today, we seized crack cocaine alongside firearms, reminding all that violence and drug dealing often go hand in hand. I commend the NYPD’s Manhattan North Narcotics teams for their work and thank the residents of West 123rd Street for their perseverance as we developed evidence in this case.”
The charges and allegations are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Sunday, February 24, 2019
SIX INDICTED FOLLOWING OVER 50 SALES OF NARCOTICS IN HARLEM: TWO HANDGUNS SEIZED
Dangerous Fentanyl Masked as Counterfeit Oxycodone: 20,000 Pills Seized in the Bronx and Manhattan
New Yorkers Cautioned Against Purchasing Black Market Prescription Pills
Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill and New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett announced the seizure of 20,000 pills of counterfeit oxycodone suspected to contain fentanyl and two kilograms of heroin (over 4 ½ pounds) over the past week as a result of two investigations. The pills carry a street value of up to $600,000. Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, a potentially lethal synthetic opioid, are increasingly appearing on the black market in New York City.
Four defendants are charged in criminal complaints filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. The arrests are a result of two investigations by the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) Group T-12, which is comprised of agents and officers from the DEA New York Division, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the New York State Police. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department assisted in the investigation.
On February 7, 2019, agents and officers were conducting surveillance as part of an ongoing investigation centered on a suspected narcotics trafficker, ANDRES REYES-MARTINEZ, when they observed him entering and exiting a cellphone store at 155-B West Kingsbridge Road in the Fordham Manor neighborhood of the Bronx.
The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor secured a search warrant for the location and agents and officers entered the cellphone store at approximately 5:50 p.m. REYES-MARTINEZ and a second individual, JESUS GARCIA, were the only people present inside the store at the time. GARCIA, the purported owner of the cellphone store, stood behind the counter and was in conversation with REYES-MARTINEZ.
Above the first floor retail area, agents and officers found a second floor storage area and recovered approximately 14,000 small blue tablets stamped “M30” that closely matched the color and markings of prescription oxycodone. The pills were split between 14 bags, each holding approximately 1,000 pills, and are suspected to contain fentanyl. Police also recovered two brick-shaped packages wrapped in duct tape, each weighing approximately one kilogram, containing a tan powdery substance with the characteristics and appearance of heroin. The store is located in a busy commercial area in close proximity to the Kingsbridge Armory.
Four days earlier, on February 3, 2019, agents and officers made a similar seizure after conducting surveillance on a livery car heading southbound on the FDR Drive. Agents and officers stopped the vehicle in which defendants DAVID ESPINAL and VICTOR ALMANZAR-CARDENAS were traveling in the vicinity of 1st Avenue and East 49th Street.
ESPINAL had a large object in his pocket and began flailing his arms, refusing to be handcuffed. Agents and officers recovered the object, which proved to be a large clear plastic bag containing approximately 6,000 pills. The pills were blue in color and were stamped “M30,” markings consistent with oxycodone. Subsequent laboratory analysis revealed that the pills contained fentanyl.
The fentanyl pills recovered in these investigations are believed to have originated in Mexico. A highly potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl is cheaper to obtain than pharmaceutical-grade opioid prescription pills and much more deadly.
Overdose deaths in New York City are at record-high levels and fentanyl is involved in more than half of these fatalities. A customer accustomed to taking oxycodone would not necessarily have the tolerance to be able to ingest fentanyl without suffering an overdose.
Black market 30 mg oxycodone pills can sell on the street for up to $30 each. At that price, the combined total number of pills recovered in these investigations could have carried a street value of up to $600,000.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked her office’s Special Investigations Bureau (SIB), Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division, the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
“If you take ‘prescription’ pills that did not come directly from a pharmacy, you are risking your life,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Brennan. “Throughout New York City, we have seen a spate of cases involving tens of thousands of potentially lethal fentanyl pills masquerading as oxycodone. Just because black market pills have the same color and design as legitimate pills, it does not mean they are safe. The ingredients and potency are all unknown, and minuscule amounts of fentanyl can cause overdose or death. Consuming a counterfeit pill is akin to playing Russian Roulette.”
“These arrests highlight a growing trend in illicit street drugs which increases the risk of drug overdose,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan. “Traffickers are mass producing pseudo-pharmaceutical pills made of heroin, fentanyl and other illicit drugs in makeshift laboratories throughout New York City. These pills attract users because they are more convenient and less conspicuous; but users should beware because they are unregulated and lethal. DEA and our law enforcement partners are committed to removing such threats and arresting drug dealers, traffickers and manufacturers.”
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said, “NYPD detectives continue to work tirelessly to hold those responsible who traffic opioids and fentanyl into our communities and contribute to related overdoses that have brought devastation to countless families. We will continue to work closely with our federal, state and local partners to stop this type of criminal activity. I commend the investigators who put themselves in harm’s way to remove these dangerous narcotics from the streets of New York.”
Acting New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, "I applaud the collaborative work of our New York State Police members and law enforcement partners at all levels for their relentless efforts to keep illegal drugs off our streets. These charges and the seizure of these lethal drugs are the result of their hard work and commitment to aggressively target and pursue criminals who perpetuate the distribution of these dangerous narcotics and the criminal activities associated with them. Together, we will continue to work diligently to prevent the flow of these illegal drugs into our communities before they threaten the safety and security of our neighborhoods.”
| Defendants and Charges | |
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The charges and allegations are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Doctor Convicted In Manhattan Federal Court Of Nine Counts In Connection With Oxycodone And Fentanyl Diversion Scheme
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the conviction yesterday of ERNESTO LOPEZ, a New York-licensed medical doctor who wrote thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl over an approximately three-year period, following an eight-day trial before the Honorable Denise L. Cote. LOPEZ was remanded into custody following his conviction. Audra Baker, a medical assistant who worked in one of LOPEZ’s medical offices, and who was tried with LOPEZ, was acquitted of all charges against her.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated: “As the jury unanimously recognized, Ernesto Lopez betrayed his patients and the public, peddling dangerous opioids to addicts and drug dealers for his own personal financial profit. His flagrant drug dealing is all the more shocking coming as it did from a licensed medical professional who has taken an oath to do no harm to his patients.”
As reflected in the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and evidence introduced at trial:
From approximately 2015 until his arrest in November 2017, LOPEZ operated medical clinics in New York, New York, Jackson Heights, New York, and Franklin Square, New York, where LOPEZ, who purported to specialize in pain management, wrote thousands of prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl in exchange for cash payments. In total, LOPEZ wrote prescriptions for nearly one million oxycodone pills, with a street value of approximately $20 million. LOPEZ typically charged $200 to $300 in cash for patient visits, despite the fact that nearly 80 percent of his patients had health insurance. During many patient visits, LOPEZ neither performed a meaningful physical examination of patients, nor attempted to diagnose them. Instead, a typical such patient visit consisted primarily of recording a patient’s vital signs and sometimes involved the brief movement of a patient’s limbs. LOPEZ then prescribed large quantities of oxycodone, most frequently 120 30-milligram tablets, and fentanyl patches.
In addition to prescribing oxycodone and fentanyl patches to patients without a legitimate medical need, LOPEZ also prescribed to many patients a fentanyl-based spray, called Subsys, which was intended to treat breakthrough cancer pain, for which those patients – many of whom did not have cancer – had no legitimate medical need. In connection with these prescriptions, LOPEZ submitted an application to INSYS Therapeutics to join a so-called “speaker’s program,” where doctors received payments in exchange for prescribing the fentanyl-based spray to patients.
LOPEZ also provided loose oxycodone pills, without a prescription, directly to at least one patient on multiple occasions, instructed an employee to fill a prescription for oxycodone pills and then to give the pills to LOPEZ, and instructed the same employee to crush an oxycodone pill and put the resulting powder into a urine sample, so as to cheat a drug test.
At the time of LOPEZ’s arrest, law enforcement agents recovered, among other things, hundreds of fentanyl sprays and patches from his residence, along with approximately $729,000 in cash in boxes.
After the verdict was announced, Judge Cote said: “Lives were destroyed and damaged. People have suffered enormously because of what the doctor chose to do for those years.”
LOPEZ, 75, of Flushing, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and fentanyl outside the usual course of professional practice and without legitimate medical need, and eight counts of distributing oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and without legitimate medical need. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by Judge Cote on June 11, 2019.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Tactical Diversion Squad. Mr. Berman also thanked the New York City Police Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the New York City Department of Investigation, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, the New York City Human Resources Administration, the Nassau County Police Department and Asset Forfeiture Unit, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York State Department of Financial Services for their work on the investigation.
Parts of this case were conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Candidates List for the 2021 From the NYC Campaign Finance Board as of 2-21-2019
Candidate List
2021 Citywide Elections
This page was last updated on 02/21/2019 3:42 pm.
Note: All candidates who have filed a Candidate Certification and/or a Filer Registration with the Board, or who have been determined to be on the ballot by the Board of Elections for the 2021 Citywide Elections, are listed below. Candidates who have chosen to join the Campaign Finance Program by timely filing a Candidate Certification are considered “participants.” All other candidates are listed as “non-participants.” There may be additional non-participants who have failed to submit a Filer Registration as required (this form must be filed no later than the day the candidate is required to file his or her first disclosure statement for the 2021 Citywide Elections); to the extent such candidates can be identified by the Board, they will be included on the list of candidates who have failed to file required disclosure statements.
| Candidate | Classification | Office Sought | Option |
| Adams, Adrienne E | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Adams, Eric L | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Alexis, Anthony | Undetermined | City Council District 45 | |
| Beckford, Roy Anthony | Participant | City Council District 45 | A |
| Beltzer, Michael | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Brannan, Justin L | Undetermined | City Council District 43 | |
| Cabrera, Fernando | Participant | Undeclared | |
| Cespedes, Louis A | Undetermined | City Council District 45 | |
| Chandler-Waterman, Monique | Participant | City Council District 45 | A |
| Chino, Theo B | Participant | Public Advocate | |
| Constantinides, Costa | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Cornegy, Jr., Robert E | Participant | Brooklyn Boro President | B |
| Crowley, Elizabeth S | Participant | Undeclared | |
| De Los Santos, Manny | Participant | City Council District 10 | A |
| Diaz Jr., Ruben | Undetermined | Mayor | |
| Diaz, Sr., Ruben | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Dinowitz, Eric | Participant | City Council District 11 | A |
| Eugene, Mathieu | Participant | Undeclared | A |
| Foldenauer, Aaron S | Participant | Mayor | A |
| Fuentes-Padilla, Christopher R | Non-Participant | City Council District 23 | |
| Gibson, Vanessa L | Participant | Undeclared | |
| Gjonaj, Mark | Undetermined | City Council District 13 | |
| Goodwin, Gwen E | Participant | Public Advocate | |
| James, Letitia* | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Johnson, Corey D | Participant | Undeclared | A |
| Kallos, Benjamin J | Participant | Undeclared | A |
| Katz, Melinda | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Krishnan, Shekar | Participant | Undeclared | |
| Lancman, Rory I* | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Lander, Brad | Participant | Comptroller | A |
| Lee, Kenneth D | Non-Participant | City Council District 40 | |
| Levine, Mark D | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Lind, Sara | Participant | City Council District 06 | A |
| Lopez-Pierre, Thomas A | Undetermined | Manhattan Boro President | |
| Louis, Farah N | Participant | City Council District 45 | |
| Matteo, Steven | Undetermined | Staten Island Boro President | |
| O'Leary, Brent M | Participant | City Council District 26 | A |
| Padernacht, Daniel A | Participant | City Council District 11 | |
| Quart, Dan | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Rein, Briget A | Participant | City Council District 39 | A |
| Richards, Donovan | Participant | Undeclared | |
| Rivera, Carlina L | Undetermined | City Council District 02 | |
| Rose, Xamayla D | Participant | City Council District 45 | |
| Rosenthal, Helen K | Participant | Comptroller | A |
| Salamanca, Jr., Rafael | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Schulman, Lynn C | Participant | City Council District 29 | A |
| Shimamura, Tricia | Participant | City Council District 05 | A |
| Solano, Socrates S | Participant | Undeclared | |
| Solotaire, Benjamin A | Participant | City Council District 33 | |
| Stringer, Scott M | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Torres, Ritchie J | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Vallone, Paul A | Participant | Undeclared | A |
| Van Bramer, James G | Undetermined | Undeclared | |
| Whitehead-Miller, Lamor | Undetermined | Brooklyn Boro President | |
| Yozzo, Ralph E | Non-Participant | City Council District 36 | |
| Participants: | 29 | ||
| Non-Participants: | 3 | ||
| Undetermined: | 23 | ||
| Total Candidates: | 55 | ||
| Terminated Candidates*: | 2 | ||
This list of candidates is from the NYC Campaign Finance Board as of Thursday February 21st at 3:42PM. This list will change as the 2021 election gets closer. More candidates are expected to announce their candidacies, a few may drop out, and what office being sought should also be announced.
Option A and B refers to the method of matching funding, which was recently changed by referendum. We will try to keep you updated on a regular basis when there are enough changes.
SCHUMER DEMANDS FEDS PUT UP $1.2 BILLION IN NEW FUNDS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING IN UPCOMING TRUMP BUDGET
RECENT SETTLEMENT GIVES FEDS AUTHORITY OVER NYCHA; ONLY FAIR THEY INCREASE FUNDING & REVERSE DECADES OF FED DISINVESTMENT TO MAKE VITAL REPAIRS & MORE
Schumer Personally Spoke With HUD Sec. Carson & Urged Increased Federal Resources & Investment In Authorities Like NYCHA
With NYCHA Deal Done, Schumer Says Feds Should Deliver New Funds To Public Housing; Accountability Is Good—But Without Fed Dollars In Mix, Lasting Reform Will Elude
Schumer: HUD Needs To Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is To Improve NYCHA
On the heels of a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City of New York and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is making a public push for HUD to put up at least $1.2 billion in new federal investment for large public housing authorities with persistent issues, like NYCHA. Schumer’s public push comes after calls and discussions with HUD Secretary Ben Carson, where the two discussed NYCHA and the soon-to-be-released Trump Administration’s budget.
“We have seen the spiraling results of decades of federal disinvestment in public housing at NYCHA, specifically,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “The recent settlement between NYCHA and HUD was important and a positive step forward, but you cannot address the structural and systemic problems here without the federal government providing its fair share to fix the pipes, the boilers, address lead and more. That is why, as the Trump Administration crafts its upcoming budget, I am urging HUD to add at least $1.2 billion in its request for public housing authorities that NYCHA can immediately tap.”
Just this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City of New York and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) came to an agreement to address long standing issues at the housing authority’s properties. According to HUD, the agreement establishes specific requirements and milestones to address health and safety hazards at NYCHA properties, including lead-based paint, mold, heat, vermin, among others. NYCHA was not placed into receivership, but the federal government will now have stronger controls to oversee NYCHA.
The agreement includes:
- A federal monitor appointed by HUD, SDNY, and NYC to address health and safety hazards. The federal monitor will be required to submit quarterly reports to both HUD and SDNY.
- A commitment from NYC to provide to NYCHA at least $2.2 billion over the course of the next 10 years.
“The recent settlement gives the feds control over NYCHA, and so, it is only fair they increase funding to help reverse decades of federal disinvestment in New York City public housing,” Schumer added.
Schumer points out, the agreement does not include any commitment from HUD to dedicate new federal dollars to NYCHA. While the agreement between HUD and NYC prioritizes the well-being of NYCHA residents by requiring significant changes with increased oversight, while maintaining some form of local control; Schumer argued that having a federal monitor and clear benchmarks for NYCHA to hit is only fair if the feds chip in to help address their decades of disinvestment.
Schumer says that New York City and New York State shouldn’t have to come up with all funding on their own to address the $32 billion capital backlog. The City of New York is committing at least $2.2 billion over the next 10 years. Schumer says there needs to be additional federal funding available to supplement this local commitment.
Schumer has requested that HUD include more than $1 billion of additional funding in the Trump Administration’s upcoming budget to address persistent issues with large housing authorities, like NYCHA.
In addition to his direct conversations with Secretary Carson, Schumer also signed on to a letter in December with his colleagues in both the House of Representatives and the Senate stating that “additional federal resources…are almost certainly needed.”
The New York City Housing Authority aims to increase opportunities for low-and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. More than 400,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 326 public housing developments across the City’s five boroughs.
Attorney General James Announces Conviction Of Owner Of Three Manhattan Pharmacies For Defrauding Medicaid
Pharmacist Faces Up to Six Years in Prison and will Repay over $3 Million for Role in HIV Drug Fraud Scheme
Attorney General Letitia James announced the guilty pleas of licensed pharmacist Hin T. Wong (“Wong”), 50, of Manhattan, and her companies New York Pharmacy Inc. (“NY Pharmacy”), NYC Pharmacy Inc. (“NYC Pharmacy”), and NY Healthfirst Pharmacy Inc. (“NY Healthfirst”) in connection with a multi-million dollar Medicaid fraud scheme involving HIV drugs.
“This Defendant, a licensed pharmacist, exploited some of our state’s most vulnerable patients to steal millions of dollars reserved to provide New Yorkers with essential healthcare,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “My office will continue to hold accountable health care professionals who forsake their professional responsibility to their patients and instead choose to use their professional status to line their pockets.”
Wong pled guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court before Justice Mark Dwyer to Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class “B” felony. Wong will be sentenced to two to six years in state prison and will forfeit over $3,600,000. All of her pharmacies, which are now closed, were also convicted:
- NY Pharmacy, formerly at 131 Walker St. in Manhattan, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class “B” felony;
- NYC Pharmacy, formerly at 203 East 121st St. in Manhattan, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the First Degree; and
- NY Healthfirst Pharmacy, formerly at 2021 First Ave. in Manhattan, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” felony.
In court papers, Wong admitted to paying or directing her employees to pay kickbacks to several undercover agents from the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (“MFCU’) in return for their agreement to fill their HIV prescriptions at her pharmacies. Wong’s pharmacies then billed and were eventually paid over $60,000 by Medicaid for refills on prescriptions that Wong’s pharmacies either did not dispense to the MFCU undercover agents, a scheme known as “auto-refilling,” or that were predicated on the payment of an unlawful kickback.
State law strictly prohibits all medical providers, including pharmacies, from paying or offering to pay kickbacks to another person in return for the referral of medical services ultimately paid for by Medicaid.
The investigation showed that from January 2014 to August 2017, Wong’s pharmacies did not purchase a sufficient inventory of medication from licensed drug wholesalers to account for the quantity of medication -- much of which was for HIV drugs -- for which Wong’s pharmacies billed Medicaid and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (“MCOs”). Relying on thousands of false claims for payment filed by Wong’s pharmacies, Medicaid and Medicaid MCOs paid Wong’s pharmacies over $3.5 million.
In conjunction with the criminal case, the Attorney General also filed a civil asset forfeiture and New York False Claims Act action against Wong, her pharmacies and another entity owned by Wong, KT Studio Inc. a/k/a/ Dove Cat Studio a/k/a C’est La Vie Studio. As part of this action, the court approved the Attorney General’s application to freeze Wong’s assets, including several bank accounts, to preserve stolen money. Under the civil settlement, Wong will surrender over $3,600,000 – including over $700,000 in seized cash -- all of which will be returned to the New York Medicaid program.
The Attorney General thanks the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for their assistance in this investigation. The Attorney General also thanks Medicaid MCOs Amida Care and Wellcare; pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark and Optum RX; and pharmaceutical wholesalers HD Smith and McKesson for their cooperation with the investigation.
Attorney General James reminds New Yorkers that fraud also causes bad healthcare. Here are some things to look out for when you receive Medicaid benefits and have a prescription:
- Did someone offer you money to send your prescription to a particular pharmacy?
- Did someone offer you money to not pick up a medications for which you had a prescription?
- Did someone offer to “buy” your medications from you?
- Have you ever been told by a pharmacy you chose that it couldn’t fill your prescription because another pharmacy was billing your prescriptions?
- Did you receive medication after the expiration date on the label?
- Did your medication appear to be dirty or improperly stored?
New Yorkers can report suspected fraud to the Attorney General’s toll-free Medicaid Fraud Hotline, at (800) 771-7755 or online at ag.ny.gov/medicaid-fraud/contact.
MFCU’s investigation was conducted by Investigator Nefertiti Clarke with the assistance of Supervising Investigator Dominick DiGennaro and Deputy Chief Investigator Kenneth Morgan. The financial analysis for the investigation was conducted by Principal Auditor-Investigator Cristina Marin and Auditor-Investigator Megan Scott with the assistance of New York City Regional Deputy Chief Auditor Jonathan Romano and New York City Regional Chief Auditor Thomasina Smith.