Pharmacy owner and manager accused of stealing millions from Medicaid

Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday the indictment, arrest, and arraignment of Juan Poveda, the owner, and Javier Burbano, the manager, of a Queens-based pharmacy for allegedly partaking in a scheme that saw millions stolen from Medicaid.

Poveda, 32, and Burbano, 32, who both run Santiago Pharmacy under CSE Drug Corp., are accused of paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients for filling their HIV prescriptions at their pharmacy. They also allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for HIV drugs like Biktarvy, which were either illicitly acquired or never actually purchased.

In addition to Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Health Care Fraud in the Second Degree, the defendants face charges for allegedly paying unlawful kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries, a violation of New York Social Services Law. The charges brought against them include Money Laundering in the First Degree and in the Second Degree for purportedly conducting financial transactions intended to disguise the illegally procured funds.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, search warrants were executed at Corona Chemist Pharmacy in Corona and Mi Botica Pharmacy in Flushing, Queens as part of the ongoing investigation. If convicted, the accused face a maximum of 25 years in prison for class B felonies like Grand Larceny and Money Laundering in the First Degree, and up to 15 years for class C felonies like Health Care Fraud in the Second Degree.

Attorney General James expressed her disappointment in the situation, stating, “We trust pharmacies to attend to the needs and welfare of their patients, not to take advantage of our most vulnerable neighbors to line their own pockets. Stealing from Medicaid is a reprehensible crime, and New Yorkers can count on my office to hold these bad actors accountable.”

Allegedly, the defendants paid cash kickbacks to Medicaid recipients to incentivize them to fill their HIV…