Source: Office of United States Attorneys
False claims in the healthcare industry cost every American. Today, a unanimous jury found Omnicare, the country’s largest long-term care pharmacy, liable for fraudulently dispensing drugs without valid prescriptions to elderly and disabled people in assisted living facilities and other residential long-term care facilities. After a four-week trial, the jury found that Omnicare billed Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for over three million false claims resulting in $135,592,814 in damages. Under the federal False Claims Act, the Government is entitled to three times the amount of these assessed damages, or $406,778,442, plus statutory penalties to be determined by the Court. This is one of the largest damages verdicts rendered by a jury in a False Claims Act case. The jury also found CVS Health Corporation, Omnicare’s parent, liable for causing Omnicare to submit false claims. I thank the women and men of our Civil Division for continuing to pursue those who seek to exploit the healthcare system. I also thank the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense for their support and assistance throughout this case.