Free cellphone offer allegedly used to lure Jacksonville residents into $51M health care fraud scheme – News4JAX

Free cellphone offer allegedly used to lure Jacksonville residents into $51M health care fraud scheme  News4JAX

A free cellphone offer allegedly helped draw Jacksonville residents into a health care fraud scheme that generated $51 million in fraudulent insurance claims, according to federal investigators. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A free cellphone offer allegedly helped draw Jacksonville residents into a health care fraud scheme that generated $51 million in fraudulent insurance claims, according to federal investigators. Prosecutors said Albert Chester II, Charlie Griffin and others used community outreach events, including missions serving people in need, to collect residents’ personal information. People who believed they were signing up for a free government-sponsored cellphone instead had their information used to obtain prescriptions for expensive HIV medication they had not requested, court documents say.

Chester, a pharmacist at the facility at the center of the case, is tied to more than $24 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid, according to investigators. They say he received about $4.9 million in proceeds. Griffin allegedly received about $14.2 million. The claims attributed to Griffin and his co-conspirators totaled $51 million and involved Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies, investigators say. Jonathan Gholston, another person identified by investigators, pleaded guilty and was awaiting sentencing at the time of publishing this story. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of about $2 million from him. Ethelbert Nwangbo was also charged and indicted alongside Griffin. Federal prosecutors say there