The husband-and-wife owners of a Union City pharmacy plead guilty to a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and kickback scheme that ripped off Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance companies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday.
Officials say Samuel Khaimov, 52, and his wife, Yana Shtindler, 48, both of Glen Head, New York, pleaded guilty to defrauding pharmacy benefit managers and health care benefit providers of more than $65 million and to pay kickbacks and bribes to health care professionals and their staffs in exchange for referrals of prescriptions.
Khaimov and Shtindler paid bribes, kickbacks and set up phony jobs in doctors’ offices, according to officials.
“These defendants admitted taking part in an elaborate and years-long scheme to use their specialty pharmacy to rip off Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers,” Sellinger said.
Khaimov pleaded guilty to two counts of a superseding indictment charging him with conspiring to commit health care fraud and conspiring to violate the federal anti-kickback statute. Shtindler pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud.
They both face up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 13.