PHARMACIST SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IN PRISON IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCHEME

Hootan Melamed, a pharmacist based in Los Angeles, California, was sentenced in United States District Court, Southern District of California, on March 29, 2021, to six months in prison and three years’ probation for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Melamed was also ordered to forfeit $1,816,038.82 in cash and personal property.

Our investigation found that Melamed paid kickbacks to medical marketers who referred patients to his pharmacy to fill the patients’ prescriptions for compound creams and other pharmaceuticals. Melamed previously pleaded guilty on November 2, 2020, to the conspiracy charges. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $22,000. Criminal judicial proceedings for other defendants in this case are pending.