FOUR MEDICAL MARKETERS SENTENCED IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCHEME

Allan Lummer, Farshad Sassounian, Sidney Cobos and Ashkan Kohanpour, medical marketers based in Los Angeles, were sentenced in United States District Court, Central District of California, in July 2021 for aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Sassounian, Cobos, and Kohanpour were each sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay $24,147.50 in restitution. Lummer was sentenced to two years’ probation for his role in the scheme.

Our investigation found that the four defendants aided in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return to the Internal Revenue Service for Pharmacy Acquisition LLC. The defendants knew the tax return falsely claimed a deduction for expenses that were actually distributions made to them, as owners of the pharmacy. Further, our investigation found that Pharmacy Acquisition LLC provided medically unnecessary compounded drug prescriptions to Precise Compounding Pharmacy that were reimbursed by health care benefit programs, including Amtrak’s plan. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $22,000.