Pharmacy owner and manager accused of stealing millions from Medicaid
Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday the indictment, arrest, and arraignment of Juan Poveda, the owner, and Javier Burbano, the manager, of a Queens-based pharmacy for allegedly partaking in a scheme that saw millions stolen from Medicaid.
Poveda, 32, and Burbano, 32, who both run Santiago Pharmacy under CSE Drug Corp., are accused of paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients for filling their HIV prescriptions at their pharmacy. They also allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for HIV drugs like Biktarvy, which were either illicitly acquired or never actually purchased.
In addition to Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Health Care Fraud in the Second Degree, the defendants face charges for allegedly paying unlawful kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries, a violation of New York Social Services Law. The charges brought against them include Money Laundering in the First Degree and in the Second Degree for purportedly conducting financial transactions intended to disguise the illegally procured funds.