Queensbury oncologist Dr. Vincent Koh and his wife, office manager Milly Koh, are paying $500,000 to settle federal charges for knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare for unapproved chemotherapy drugs. The couple, who operated cancer treatment clinics in Poughkeepsie and Glens Falls, funneled foreign-sourced drugs through their practice while billing federal health programs as if they were FDA-approved U.S. pharmaceuticals.
From mid-2010 to early 2012, the Kohs purchased cancer drugs from a Canadian distributor who sourced them from overseas manufacturers. The medications, some labeled in foreign languages, were never cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and therefore ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. Despite this, Dr. Koh administered the drugs to patients and directed staff to file claims for full reimbursement—profiting from the steep price difference between the illicit imports and regulated U.S. supply.
On November 20, 2017, both Vincent and Milly Koh pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of receiving and delivering misbranded drugs. They are scheduled for sentencing on March 20, 2018, before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Katz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
“Unlike prescription drugs picked up at a pharmacy, chemotherapeutic drugs generally are administered without any opportunity for patients to see the labeling, so cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to this sort of conduct,” said United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith. “This settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to safeguarding patients and the federal fisc by ensuring that people do not unknowingly receive and taxpayers do not pay for foreign drugs that the FDA has not approved.”
Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Region (HHS-OIG), added: “Patients deserve the security of knowing that the medication being prescribed to them is unadulterated, safeguarded, and properly manufactured. This settlement is another example of HHS-OIG’s commitment to protecting quality of care and the federal health care programs intended for our most vulnerable Americans.”
The investigation was a joint operation involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, HHS-OIG, FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, and FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. The crackdown underscores mounting federal scrutiny on healthcare providers exploiting loopholes to game Medicare billing—while putting patients at risk with unverified, foreign-sourced drugs.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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