George Philip Tompkins, 75, the president of Houston-based pharmaceutical company Piney Point Pharmacy and his wife Marene Kathryn Tompkins, 68, the vice president of the company were sentenced on June 25 for their roles in a scheme to defraud the Department of Labor out of $21 million, according to a Department of Justice press release.
George and Marene Tompkins charged extraneous and medically unnecessary gels and creams to various health care programs for injured state and federal workers, partially through the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) program. George Tompkins was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of Texas to ten years in prison, and Marene Tompkins was sentenced to thirty days of home confinement, followed by three years of supervised release. While Marene Tompkins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay kickbacks, George Tompkins took his case to trial. He was convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, eleven counts of health care fraud, and three counts of wire fraud on March 10th. In addition to their sentences, George Tompkins was ordered to pay $12,300,381.36 in restitution and Marene Tompkins to pay $950,745.10.
George Tompkins allegedly referred to himself as the “Compound King” throughout his time as head pharmacist and owner of Piney Point Pharmacy. Compounding is the process of creating medications that are tailored to what patients need, according to the indictment.
Anoop Chaturvedi, 48, a legal resident of India, is also implicated in the scheme’s creation and operation. George Tompkins and Chaturvedi attempted to disguise the illegal kickbacks and launder the money they were making from the scheme with the help of separate companies that they ran, including Wellington Advisors. Kickbacks were disguised as “marketing expenses” and orders were not canceled even when patients insisted that they did not need them. Chaturvedi is currently a fugitive with a warrant out for his arrest.
Read the DOJ press release: “Compound King” and Wife Sentenced in $21 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme; Fugitive Sought.
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