Dr. Defrauded Military Health Care Company Out Of Millions: Feds

A doctor in South Jersey has been arrested for prescribing expensive compounded medications to patients who did not need them, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

The actions of 45-year-old Dr. Bernard Ogon, of Burlington, resulted in a loss of more than $20 million for health care benefit programs, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

At least $3 million of those losses was sustained by TRICARE – a health care benefit program for members of the military and their families.

Ogon is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He made his initial court appearance Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court and was released on $500,000 secured bond.

Telemedicine allows health care providers to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients without the need for an in-person visit by interacting with a patient using telecommunications technology, such as the internet or telephone.

Ogon was paid by various telemedicine companies to prescribe exorbitantly expensive compounded medications to patients whether the medications were medically necessary or not, according to authorities.

Medications included pain creams, scar creams, migraine creams, and metabolic supplements/“wellness capsules,” according to authorities. The telemedicine companies sent Ogon prescriptions to sign for compounded medications, and Ogon signed the prescriptions without having established any prior doctor-patient relationship, speaking with the patient, or conducting any kind of medical evaluation.

The telemedicine companies often filled out the prescriptions completely – including selecting the compound medications to be prescribed – before Ogon ever saw them, according to authorities. Once Ogon received the filled-out prescriptions, he needed only to sign them to complete the prescription.

Ogon often received little or no information about the patients before he signed the prescriptions, according to authorities. As a result, Ogon repeatedly signed prescriptions for either expensive compounded scar cream or pain cream even though he had not received any information indicating that the patient needed them. Ogon also signed prescriptions for patients living in states where he was not licensed to practice medicine.

After Ogon signed the medically unnecessary prescriptions, they were sent to compounding pharmacies with whom he or other entities involved in the scheme had relationships, according to authorities. The compounding pharmacies then filled the prescriptions and billed the patient’s health care benefit program.

The telemedicine companies paid Ogon on a per-prescription basis for many prescriptions he signed. One telemedicine company paid Ogon between $20 and $30 per prescription, according to authorities.

If convicted, Ogon faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

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