BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama doctor and a pharmacist have been sentenced in a multi-million dollar health care fraud scheme to bill insurance companies for medically unnecessary drugs, among other charges.
A federal judge sentenced Paul Roberts, a former Fultondale doctor, to six years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $2 million in fines and restitution, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and federal agents announced in a joint statement Tuesday.
Roberts also pleaded guilty to a "conspiracy and scheme" to fraudulently bill insurers for office visits and up to $2.2 million worth of medically unnecessary drugs in exchange for kickbacks, prosecutors said.
Stanley Reeves, a pharmacist and owner of F&F Drugs in Demopolis, was sentenced to just over three years in prison for conspiring to fraudulently bill health insurance companies for $10.5 million worth of medically unnecessary drugs, some of which were prescribed by Roberts, according to the Justice Department.
He was ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution.
Roberts also pleaded guilty to 12 counts of prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, including allowing an X-ray technician to prescribe the drugs to patients, as well as prescribing controlled substances to women in an attempt to obtain sexual favors, prosecutors said.
The two agreed to give up their licenses.