Morris County Pharmacy Employee Embroiled in $2.4 Million Kickback Scheme
A pharmacy employee has admitted to conspiring to offer and pay bribes and kickbacks in exchange for having prescriptions steered to the Morris County, New Jersey, pharmacy where he worked, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Srinivasa Raju, 51, of Haskell, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to an information charging him with conspiring to violate the federal anti-kickback statute.
The scheme, which ran from January 2019 through February 2021, involved Raju and other pharmacy personnel paying kickbacks and bribes to medical employees in two different doctors’ offices in Jersey City, New Jersey. In exchange, those employees steered numerous, high-value prescriptions to the pharmacy where Raju worked.
Raju and his conspirators paid as much as $150 for each prescription and used various tactics to conceal many of those bribe payments. Overall, the pharmacy received over $2.4 million in Medicare reimbursement payments based on prescriptions derived from the kickback scheme.
Raju had various responsibilities at the Morris County pharmacy, including coordinating prescription deliveries and soliciting business. Magdalena Jimenez, 58, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty to a parallel bribery and kickback scheme involving the same pharmacy.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing for Raju is scheduled for May 16, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber, Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit.
Raju is represented by Miles Feinstein Esq., of Clifton, New Jersey, while Jimenez is represented by Peter Guadagnino Esq., of New York.
Mandatory Facts
Defendant: Srinivasa Raju
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to violate the federal anti-kickback statute
City and State: Haskell, New Jersey
Date: January 2019 – February 2021 (scheme duration)
Sentence: Up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense
Dollar Amounts: $2.4 million in Medicare reimbursement payments received by the pharmacy, and up to $150 per prescription paid as kickbacks and bribes
Related Federal Cases
- Jeffrey Pearlman, Fentanyl Kickback Scheme, New Jersey 2017 · Connecticut
- Nimesh Patel, Kickback Scheme, NJ 2024 · New York
- Habib Chaudhry, Credit Card Scheme, New Jersey 2013 · New York
- Babar Qureshi, Credit Card Scheme, New Jersey 2024 · Washington
- Marc Henry Menard, Investment Fraud Scheme, Mineola NY, 2023 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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