James D. Feeley, Health Care Fraud, New Jersey 2024

Newark, N.J. – A brazen health care fraud scheme has been exposed, with an Ohio man admitting to playing a key role in a $24 million scam.

James D. Feeley, 46, of Grafton, Ohio, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Feeley participated in a scheme with pharmacies, telemedicine companies, and doctors to submit false claims to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and TRICARE, based on a circular scheme of kickbacks and bribes.

From June 2017 through September 2020, Feeley controlled several marketing companies through which he and his conspirators identified Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries to target for expensive drugs. The marketing companies spoke to beneficiaries by telephone to pressure them to agree to try expensive medications, regardless of medical necessity.

Feeley and his companies then paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies, which in turn paid kickbacks to doctors, to obtain prescriptions for the medications. Feeley transmitted to the telemedicine companies the beneficiaries’ medical information, the telephone call recording, and pre-marked prescription pads for particular drugs that would yield exorbitant reimbursements.

Feeley and his conspirators then directed the prescriptions to pharmacies with which Feeley and his business partner, Mark Belter, had additional kickback arrangements. The pharmacies submitted claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs including Medicare and TRICARE, and thereafter sent a portion of the proceeds to Feeley and his companies as payment for the prescriptions generated through the conspiracy.

The charges against Feeley carry a maximum of five years in prison, along with fines, restitution, and penalties. Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2024. Feeley’s companies received kickbacks and bribes totaling more than $6 million in exchange for prescription referrals to Apogee Bio Pharm LLC, a pharmacy located in Edison, New Jersey.

Feeley is the latest defendant to be held accountable in this brazen scheme. His business partner, Mark Belter, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Elan Yaish, former president of Apogee, also pleaded guilty to an information charging conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute.

The case highlights the need for vigilance in the health care industry, where fraudulent schemes can have devastating consequences for patients and taxpayers alike.

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