Syosset Medical Assistant Charged In $5M Health Care Kickback Scheme

SYOSSET, NY — A Syosset medical assistant who owns two pharmacies in Brooklyn is one of two in New York recently arrested and charged in connection with alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraudulent billing schemes, federal prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday.

Jian Ai Chen, 48, is charged with conspiracy to defraud after being accused of being involved in a scheme to pay over $5 million in kickbacks to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in exchange for bringing their prescriptions to AC Pharmacy Corp. and A Star Pharmacy Inc., which she owned, officials said.

According to the Chapman Law Group, a kickback is when "a physician or medical provider uses any payment or compensation to encourage a patient to come to their office, or to encourage another medical provider to refer patients to their facility."

Officials said Chen agreed with others to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid plans for dispensing prescription medications that were induced by the payment of kickbacks and not actually dispensed.

Chen’s pharmacies received approximately $101 million as a result of the scheme, according to officials.

She was arrested and arraigned on June 14 and released on a $500,000 bond pending trial, officials said.

Also charged is Carlo Elomina Garcia, 51, from Astoria, Queens, who is accused of billing Medicare and Medicaid for over $3.9 million in occupational therapy services—many of which were not eligible for reimbursement—and was paid over $1.6 million through his company, according to officials.

Officials said the charges are part of a two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 78 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that included over $2.5 billion in alleged fraud.

The defendants are accused of defrauding programs for the care of the elderly and disabled, and, in some cases, used the proceeds of the schemes to purchase luxury items, including exotic cars and yachts, officials said.