Former Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud
Red Bud, Illinois – Steven P. Gibson, the former owner of Gibson’s Discount Drugs in Red Bud, Illinois, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for engaging in a scheme to defraud federal health care benefit programs and private insurance companies.
Gibson, 30, pleaded guilty to federal charges back in August 2018. He was found guilty of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies out of nearly $620,000.
Court records establish that Gibson purchased the pharmacy in October 2016 and began defrauding health insurers just two months later. From December 2016 to February 2018, Gibson submitted nearly 1,000 claims for ‘make believe’ prescriptions under the names of his wife, his family members, and his pharmacy customers.
To maximize his fraudulent gains, Gibson deliberately chose the most expensive drugs, such as Creon, a drug used to treat chronic pancreatitis, Pentasa, a drug used to treat ulcerative colitis, and hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat and prevent malaria. The fictitious prescriptions were not authorized by a licensed medical practitioner and were never actually filled.
Gibson’s crimes first came to light in late 2017, after a pharmacy customer recognized that her son had been billed for expensive medications he had not received and called to complain. The pharmacist who took that call then discovered Gibson’s fraud, quit her job, and notified authorities. A federal search warrant was executed at the pharmacy on February 8, 2018.
As part of his plea deal with the United States, Gibson agreed to repay all of the money and to make restitution payments in advance of sentencing to the fullest extent possible. At sentencing, however, Gibson had repaid only $30,000 and had otherwise failed to account for the rest of the money he stole.
In imposing sentence, United States District Judge Staci M. Yandle found Gibson’s failure to pay back more of the money incompatible with his expressions of remorse and refused to award him credit for acceptance of responsibility. ‘Talk is cheap,’ Judge Yandle told the defendant, quoting an opinion from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
‘The remorseful or repentant criminal would want to do everything possible to rectify the harmful consequences of his crime, and so if he still has any of the loot he will return it,’ Judge Yandle said.
Gibson was released on bond with special conditions and is expected to begin serving his sentence immediately.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime