Haddonfield Woman Sentenced For Health Care Fraud: Authorities

HADDONFIELD, NJ — A former pharmaceutical company employee from Haddonfield has been sentenced to one year, three months in prison for accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for filling medically unnecessary prescriptions for compounded medications for herself and her husband, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Julie Andresen, 40, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which resulted in a loss of $956,885 for her company. She is also subject to three years supervised release and must pay restitution of $956,885. She must also forfeit $161,378.

Andresen admitted that from September 2014 through September 2015, she received payments from a marketing business for filling and obtaining medically unnecessary prescription compounded medications for herself and her husband through the pharmaceutical company's prescription drug benefit plan, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

At social gatherings, Andresen admitted that she gave a doctor who was a close friend pre-printed forms listing compounded medications and ask the doctor to authorize the medications. The doctor not only did so, but also authorized multiple refills.

Andresen faxed prescriptions to compounding pharmacies located outside of New Jersey designated by the marketing business. The compounding pharmacies would fill and bill Andresen's prescription drug benefit plan.

The pharmaceutical company's prescription drug benefit plan reimbursed the compounding pharmacies $13,572 to $43,689 for each compounded medication Andresen and her husband received.

The compounding pharmacies would pay the marketing business a percentage of the reimbursement amount, and the business would pay Andresen a percentage of the amount it received from the compounding pharmacies. Andresen received a total of $161,378 from the marketing business for her role in the conspiracy. The pharmaceutical company lost $956,885 from this scheme.

On June 29, 2016, Stephanie Naar, 27, of St. Louis, Missouri, who had been an employee of the same pharmaceutical company as Andresen, pleaded guilty and admitted accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for obtaining and filling her own medically unnecessary prescriptions for compounded medications.

On July 19, 2016, Peter Pappas, 44, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, another former employee of the same New Jersey pharmaceutical company as Andresen, also pleaded guilty and admitted to accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for obtaining and filling his own medically unnecessary prescriptions for compounded medications. Pappas also admitted to recruiting others into this scheme.

Naar and Pappas both await sentencing.

Patch file photo