A Pompano Beach pharmacist and his employee have been handed crushing federal sentences for masterminding one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever prosecuted against the Tricare program. Serge Francois, 52, of Southwest Ranches, Florida, was sentenced to 204 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Patrick Tonge, 42, also of Southwest Ranches, received 188 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Both were ordered to pay $31,259,252 in restitution for a fraud spree that bled over $30 million from Tricare alone.
Francois, the owner and operator of Atlantic Pharmacy and Compounding, and Tonge, his assistant, ran a criminal enterprise disguised as a pharmacy. From March 2013 to March 2016, they conspired with marketers who bribed physicians to write prescriptions for costly compounded topical medications—some priced as high as $17,000 per bottle. These prescriptions were often for patients who never walked into a doctor’s office. Some physicians never saw the patients at all, using only stolen or shared identification numbers to generate fraudulent scripts.
The scheme relied on automatic refills and zero co-pays, flooding unsuspecting beneficiaries with medications they never ordered. Francois, as pharmacist-in-charge, oversaw the in-house production of the compounded drugs. Tonge assisted in processing fraudulent claims and funneling profits back to the marketers. Kickbacks flowed like clockwork: the pharmacy paid the marketers, who then paid off the doctors. The entire operation was a carefully orchestrated pipeline of greed, exploiting a program meant to care for military families.
After a month-long trial in September 2017, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida found Francois guilty on 47 counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 12 counts of health care fraud, five counts of paying kickbacks, 12 counts of money laundering, and multiple violations related to misbranded drugs and false statements. Tonge was convicted on conspiracy charges, 11 counts of health care fraud, three kickback counts, and two money laundering counts. The total losses exceeded $31 million, with Tricare shouldering the vast majority.
This case marked the largest Tricare fraud prosecution to go to trial in U.S. history. It was the result of a three-year investigation led by the U.S. Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, FDA Office of Criminal Investigation, and the Office of Personnel Management OIG. The coordinated takedown ended with 18 total convictions, unraveling a web of corruption that targeted one of the nation’s most trusted health care programs.
“This was not health care—it was theft masked as medicine,” said Benjamin G. Greenberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “These defendants exploited a system designed to protect service members and their families. Today’s sentences send a clear message: we will pursue and punish those who profit from fraud against our military beneficiaries.” U.S. District Judge Darren P. Gayles imposed the sentences on March 9, 2018, calling the fraud brazen, systematic, and deeply damaging to public trust.
RELATED: Serge Francois, Patrick Tonge Indicted in $31M TRICARE Fraud
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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