Brian Carpenter, Compounding Fraud, Texas 2023

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Texas Podiatrist, Patient Recruiter Sentenced for $8.5M Compounding Fraud Scheme

A scheme to defraud TRICARE, the healthcare program for U.S. service members and their families, has led to the sentencing of a podiatrist and a patient recruiter in Texas. Brian Carpenter, 58, of Paradise, Texas, and Jerry Lee Hawrylak, 71, of Lake Worth, Texas, were found guilty of their roles in the scheme.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Carpenter signed prescriptions for compounded pain and scar creams for TRICARE beneficiaries without ever speaking to or examining them. Hawrylak, on the other hand, recruited Carpenter to sign the prescriptions and also recruited TRICARE beneficiaries to accept the medically unnecessary creams.

Between November 2014 and January 2017, the duo, along with others, caused a Fort Worth-based pharmacy to fraudulently bill TRICARE for approximately $8.5 million. The prescriptions signed by Carpenter were backdated and authorized unlimited refills with fake addresses for beneficiaries.

In April 2023, a jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted both Carpenter and Hawrylak of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and six counts of healthcare fraud. The evidence presented at trial included standing orders signed by Carpenter that were backdated to maximize TRICARE reimbursement.

Carpenter was sentenced to 45 months in prison, while Hawrylak received a 60-month sentence. Both defendants were also ordered to pay over $7 million in restitution. The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

The case is part of the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has charged over 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal healthcare programs and private insurers more than $27 billion since March 2007. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in healthcare fraud schemes.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat healthcare fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.