Four Hudson County Pharmacies to Pay $1.335 Million in False Claims Settlement

Four pharmacies located in Jersey City and Bayonne have agreed to pay a total of $1,335,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced on May 28.

According to the settlement agreements, these pharmacies allegedly billed Medicare Part D and New Jersey Medicaid for prescription medications that were never dispensed. Inventory records reportedly showed the pharmacies did not purchase enough drugs from wholesalers to match the prescriptions billed to federal programs.

The following Hudson County pharmacies were named in the settlements:

• 2818 JFK Pharmacy LLC (Jersey City) agreed to pay $1,000,000 to resolve allegations that from January 2, 2020, through January 24, 2022, it submitted claims for drugs never dispensed.
• 1850 Greenville Pharmacy LLC (Jersey City) agreed to pay $133,000 to resolve allegations that from January 2, 2020, through April 11, 2022, it submitted claims for drugs never dispensed.
• 327 Alexandria Pharmacy LLC (Bayonne) agreed to pay $101,000 to resolve allegations that from March 26, 2020, through April 2, 2022, it submitted claims for drugs never dispensed.
• 516 Broadway Care Pharmacy LLC (Bayonne) agreed to pay $101,000 to resolve allegations that from January 2, 2020, through April 4, 2022, it submitted claims for drugs never dispensed.

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba stated, “All pharmacies that bill federal programs must ensure accurate billing and may not bill for medications they never dispensed. The Office will continue to pursue entities that fail in their essential responsibilities and engage in fraud, waste, or abuse.”

The settlements resulted from a coordinated investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kruti Dharia and Robert Toll, along with Senior Trial Counsel Jennifer Cihon, represented the government.

These settlements resolve civil allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.