MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – A Morris County pharmacy worker has pleaded guilty to a medical bribery and kickback scheme for medications.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today the admission of a pharmacy employee who conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks in exchange for prescriptions being steered to the Morris County, New Jersey, pharmacy where he worked.
During a videoconference before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp, Srinivasa Raju, 51, of Haskell, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute.
Magdalena Jimenez, 58, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty to a parallel bribery and kickback scheme involving the same pharmacy.
Court documents revealed Raju had various responsibilities at the Morris County pharmacy, including coordinating prescription deliveries and soliciting business.
“From January 2019 through February 2021, Raju worked with other pharmacy personnel to pay kickbacks and bribes to medical employees in two different doctors’ offices in Jersey City, New Jersey. In exchange, those employees steered numerous, high-value prescriptions to the pharmacy where Raju worked. Raju and his conspirators paid as much as $150 for each prescription and used various tactics to conceal many of those bribe payments. Overall, the pharmacy received over $2.4 million in Medicare reimbursement payments based on prescriptions derived from the kickback scheme,” the Department of Justice reported