Former South Hills pharmacist gets 1 year for prescription drug fraud scheme
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A former South Hills pharmacist will spend one year in prison for diverting drugs for his own use and passing off generic drugs as brand name, federal prosecutors announced.
A judge sentenced 46-year-old Timothy Forester to one year in prison followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and nearly $650,000 in restitution on his conviction of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Forester would order narcotics, mostly oxycodone and hydrocodone, for his four pharmacies then intercept those deliveries and use them himself.
He's also accused of putting brand name labels on bottles of generic drugs and billing companies and customers as if the drugs were the higher priced versions. He'd then change the computer billing codes for those drugs, resulting in a much higher reimbursement, prosecutors said.
The investigation leading to his charges was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit.