$4 Million Medicare Fraud Sends Michigan Pharmacist to Prison
A Michigan pharmacist was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for bilking Medicare out of $4 million using a scheme involving phantom prescriptions. Nabil Fakih was also ordered to pay $4 million restitution along with an additional $426,000, and to forfeit four real estate properties.
Fakih, who owned and operated a pharmacy in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, allegedly ran the scheme from 2011 to 2017, billing Medicare for prescriptions of high-priced drugs that he never filled and never had in stock.
According to court documents, Fakih submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement for high-priced prescriptions such as blood thinners and lung disease inhalers.
Prosecutors say Fakih then took steps to conceal the fraud by manipulating inventory purchases and diverting proceeds from the reimbursements into his own personal accounts.
Fakih pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud in August 2024.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) investigated the case.
The prosecuting team was part of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which targets criminals who perpetrate fraud against federal health care programs and private insurers. More than 5,800 defendants have been charged through the strike force, since it started operating in 2007.