A radiologist in Pittsburgh has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he unlawfully dispensed Vicodin and then filed for insurance reimbursement of the prescriptions.
Dr. Omar Almusa was indicted on 88 counts on March 14, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The indictment claims that Almusa "conspired to create and submit unlawful prescriptions for Vicodin and then unlawfully dispensed those controlled substances to other persons without a legitimate medical purpose." The indictment charges that Almusa spent three years distributing "massive quantities" of Vicodin.
Almusa is also being charged with healthcare fraud for allegedly submitting "fraudulent" claims to UPMC Health Plan, the health network of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, for payments to cover the cost of the prescriptions, according to the indictment.
Almusa could get a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for each of the 86 counts that charge him with unlawfully dispensing a schedule II controlled substance, as well as a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for the charge of conspiracy to unlawfully dispense a schedule II controlled substance. He also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the one count of healthcare fraud.
The indictment was the result of an investigation by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit; the unit combines personnel and resources from state and federal agencies to fight the opioid epidemic.
Almusa was employed by UPMC but was terminated after UPMC police filed charges against him on March 1 in connection with the case, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Another former UPMC radiologist, Dr. Marios Papachristou, also has been charged in the case, according to the article.
