Pharmacist Pushed Fake Viagra: Feds

A Lockport pharmacist dispensed fake Viagra and bilked health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid out of millions of dollars, according to a federal indictment handed down last week.

Walter Beich, 61, faces charges of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly scheming to swindle Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, and United Healthcare — as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

Beich filed “fraudulent claims for prescription drugs that were not dispensed to his customers or he had switched out for less-expensive supplements instead of FDA-approved prescription drugs,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Beich also “had his employees create fake prescriptions to make it appear as if a physician had phoned-in certain prescriptions,” the statement said, and “obtained physician sample drugs and then submitted insurance claims for dispensing these sample drugs as if he obtained those drugs through commercial distribution channels.”

Beich also allegedly dispensed a “foreign-sourced drug” to unwitting customers who thought they were getting Viagra.

Beich is the “owner and licensed pharmacist at Lockport Pharmacy, Inc., operating as Corwin Pharmacy,” the statement said.

Beich was freed on a $4,500 bond. He faces more than 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The feds are also seeking to have Beich pay $2.4 million in restitution.

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