Bradley White, Health Care Fraud, California 2019

San Diego, CA - In a shocking revelation, a former U.S. Marine has pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme that bilked the military healthcare program known as TRICARE out of more than $65 million. According to court documents, Bradley White, 31, of Oakley, CA, admitted to fraudulently recruiting patients in return for a percentage of the amount TRICARE reimbursed for compounded medications.

White, the sixth of eight defendants to plead guilty in the case, entered his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard G. Skomal on June 20, 2019. Sentencing is set for October 18, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.

According to the guilty plea, a team of individuals, including White, worked to recruit and pay Marines, primarily from the San Diego area, and their dependents – all TRICARE beneficiaries – to obtain compounded medications that would be paid for by TRICARE. This information was sent to Choice MD, the Tennessee medical clinic that employed Drs. Carl Lindblad and Suzy Vergot. Drs. Lindblad and Vergot then wrote prescriptions for the TRICARE beneficiaries, despite never examining the patients in person. Once signed by the doctors, these prescriptions were not given to the beneficiaries, but sent directly to particular pharmacies controlled by co-conspirators, which filled the prescriptions and billed TRICARE at exorbitant prices.

TRICARE then reimbursed the pharmacy, and which in turn paid kickbacks – as a percentage of the TRICARE reimbursement -- to the pyramid scheme of recruiters. Both Dr. Lindblad and Dr. Vergot as well as Candace Craven, a nurse practitioner at Choice MD, have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy to commit health care fraud. CFK, Inc., the corporate owner of one of the pharmacies, has also pleaded guilty as part of this investigation.

Josh Morgan, another former Marine from San Diego, also pleaded guilty in March 2018 for his role in recruiting TRICARE beneficiaries to fraudulently receive these prescriptions. According to court documents, between December 2014 and May 9, 2015 – the day that TRICARE stopped reimbursing for compounded medications – Drs. Lindblad and Vergot authorized 4,442 total prescriptions. Over this time, their co-conspirators billed TRICARE $65,679,512 for these prescriptions. For his part, White admitted that he recruited patients who billed TRICARE over $7.6 million, for which he was paid over $195,000.

The case, 18CR0432-JLS, is still pending against the two remaining defendants, Jimmy and Ashley Collins, owners of Choice MD. White was the eighth defendant charged in relation to this fraud scheme and the sixth to plead guilty.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Bradley White. Charges: Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C § 1349. Location: San Diego, CA. Date: June 20, 2019. Sentence: Sentencing set for October 18, 2019. Amount: Over $65 million.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/patient-recruiter-pleads-guilty-multi-million-dollar-tricare-fraud