MARKETER SENTENCED IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD INVESTIGATION

Joshua Pearson, a marketer from St. George, Utah, was sentenced on June 3, 2021, in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to three years probation, six months home confinement, and was ordered to forfeit $1,250,000. Pearson previously pleaded guilty to receipt of illegal kickbacks related to a health care fraud scheme after our joint investigation found that he received kickbacks from Sheridan Medical for patient referrals for compounded drugs—drugs that were medically unnecessary. A marketer from Sheridan Medical and the owner of Fusion Rx Compounding Pharmacy, both in Los Angeles, were also charged for their role in the scheme. Amtrak’s health insurance plan was fraudulently billed $17,000 as a result of the scheme. Criminal judicial proceedings for the other defendants are pending.