An Orange County man has pleaded guilty to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims over an 11-month span to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs containing generic ingredients that were not medically necessary and, in many instances, not provided to the purported recipients, the Justice Department announced today.
Paul J. Daigle, 49, of Orange County, Texas, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt in Houston.
According to court documents, from November 2019 to October 2020, Daigle, who owned and operated several pharmacies in the Houston area, fraudulently billed Medi-Cal for expensive prescription medications that contained generic ingredients that were not medically necessary and, in many instances, not provided to the purported recipients.
The indictment charges Daigle with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Parisi and Trial Attorney S. Melissa Smith of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Daigle is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2024.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas and the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Houston Field Office.
The charges and guilty plea are the result of an investigation that involved a complex scheme to defraud the Medi-Cal program, which provides health care services to eligible low-income individuals and families in California.
Related Federal Cases
- Mark C. Simpson, Child Support Fraud and Drug Conspiracy, Atlanta G… · Texas
- Tyrone Bradshaw, Sex Offender Registration Fraud, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Texas
- Mark O. Wittenmyer, 52-Count Investment Fraud, OH, 2024 · Michigan
- Alan Leschyshyn Sentenced to 235 Months for $23M Fraud Scheme, Hous… · New Mexico
- Carlos Djemal, International Money Laundering and Wire Fraud, Chica… · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source â†â€â€ÂÂ
ðŸâ€ÂÂÂ’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
All Texas Cases →All Districts →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News