FCLC Members Maggie Grasso, Betsy Toplin, and Kathy Gaughan Secure Full Acquittals in Federal Health Care Fraud and Drug Conspiracy Trial

Following a four-week jury trial in the matter of United States v. Neil Anand, et al. (E.D.Pa.) before Judge Chad F. Kenney, three FCLC members, Maggie Grasso (Law Office of Margaret M. Grasso), Betsy Toplin and Kathy Gaughan (both of the Federal Defenders’ Office) won full acquittals for their respective clients charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to distribute of controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose.

The case was prosecuted by the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Government alleged that Ms. Grasso’s and Ms. Toplin’s/Ms. Gaughan’s clients, both foreign medical school graduates employed by a pain management doctor, were part of the doctor’s “bills for pills” scheme to defraud Medicare and other insurance companies. The Government alleged that the doctor required patients to accept “goody bags” of unnecessary and unwanted non-narcotic medications supplied by the doctor’s in-house pharmacy, from which he made millions, in order to receive their opioid prescriptions.

The defense maintained that the foreign medical graduates, who worked for the doctor only to gain beneficial experience toward obtaining a U.S. medical residency, had no knowledge of the doctor’s scheme, reaped no financial gain other than the $15 per hour they were paid for their internship, and had every reason to believe that the doctor’s multi-modal approach to pain management was legitimate. Both clients faced federal sentencing guidelines in excess of ten years. With a full acquittal, Ms. Grasso’s client will continue on his path to becoming a licensed U.S. doctor.