Houston-Based Company Accused of Submitting False Claims to TRICARE
The Justice Department has filed a complaint against Professional Compounding Centers of America Inc. (PCCA), a Houston-based company that sells active pharmaceutical ingredients and other products and services to compounding pharmacies, under the False Claims Act.
The complaint alleges that PCCA reported fraudulent and inflated Average Wholesale Prices (AWPs) for its ingredients that bore no relationship to the actual prices at which it sold those ingredients to its pharmacy customers, thereby causing those pharmacies to submit inflated compound prescription claims to TRICARE, the federal health care program providing insurance for active duty military personnel, military retirees and military dependents.
PCCA’s actions caused its pharmacy customers to submit tens of thousands of false and fraudulently inflated compound prescription claims containing PCCA ingredients to TRICARE, costing the program hundreds of millions of dollars in excess reimbursement.
The complaint alleges that PCCA knowingly established and reported AWPs for its ingredients that were greatly inflated above their actual selling prices. For example, in 2014, PCCA typically sold the chemical Fluticasone Propionate to its top customers for between approximately $135 and $197 per gram, but it reported an AWP for that ingredient of $3,630.90 per gram – approximately 18 to 27 times the actual selling price. That same year, PCCA typically sold the ingredient Resveratrol to its top customers for under $2 per gram but reported an AWP of $818.68 per gram, more than 400 times the actual selling price of the ingredient.
“The fraudulent reporting and marketing of drug prices to solicit business will not be tolerated,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Justice Department’s Commercial Litigation Branch in the Civil Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those who take improper advantage of federal health care programs.”
Defendant: Professional Compounding Centers of America Inc.
Criminal Charges: Violations of the False Claims Act
City and State: Houston, Texas
Date: No specific date mentioned in the complaint
Sentence: Ongoing investigation and litigation
Dollar Amounts: Hundreds of millions of dollars in excess reimbursement
Related Federal Cases
- La Center Automotive Co-Owner Convicted of Clean Air Act Violations · Texas
- Viking Life-Saving Equipment America Inc, PPP Loan Fraud, Texas 2023 · Oklahoma
- BP Products North America, Clean Air Act Violation, TX 2009 · New York
- Explorer Pipeline Company Fined for Clean Water Act Violation, Hunt… · Oklahoma
- Peter Zavell, Filed False Tax Return, Florence FL, 2000 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
