By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that the owner of three Northern California pharmacies has paid $175,000 to settle the government's claims for civil statutory violations occurring at the pharmacies.
The claims involved three pharmacies owned by Ronald T. Lim of Redding: Lim's Family Pharmacy in Redding, Susanville Family Pharmacy in Susanville, and Lim's Shasta Lake Pharmacy in Shasta Lake, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
The government contends that Lim's Family Pharmacy and Susanville Family Pharmacy violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to maintain certain records and failing to accurately record certain transactions involving controlled substances. In addition, officials said, audits of the pharmacies' inventories showed a shortage of several controlled substances, along with overages of others.
The False Claims Act allows the federal government to recover damages and penalties for fraud. The government contends that Lim submitted, or caused to be submitted, claims for payment to the Medicare Program and California Medicaid Program, in violation of the False Claims Act by billing for certain drugs that were not dispensed to beneficiaries. Instead of reimbursing the government, Lim kept the monies and returned the drugs to inventory, the government alleges,
In addition to the monetary payment, the settlement requires the three pharmacies to engage in certain record keeping and return to stock compliance measures. Lim also is to designate a Drug Enforcement Administration compliance officer who will confirm reimbursement for drugs that are not dispensed and perform a quarterly audit of 50 individual drugs that were dispensed but not picked up to assure that the subject federal health care program was refunded for the drug.
The settlement is the result of a joint investigation by the DEA Sacramento Diversion Group, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.