Four Pharmacists Sentenced for $13 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Four pharmacists have been sentenced for their roles in a multi-million dollar health care fraud scheme involving Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. Raef Hamaed of Arizona received 10 years in prison, Tarek Fakhuri of Canada was sentenced to seven years, Kindy Ghussin of Ohio received five years and five months, and Ali Abdelrazzaq of Michigan was sentenced to two years.

The scheme involved five pharmacies in Michigan and Ohio—Eastside Pharmacy, Harper Drugs, Wayne Campus Pharmacy, and two Heartland Pharmacy locations—where the defendants fraudulently billed insurers for prescription medications that were never dispensed. The fraudulent activity resulted in over $13 million in losses. A federal jury convicted the four pharmacists on September 5, 2024, for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, with Fakhuri also convicted of an additional count of health care fraud.

The case was investigated by the FBI Detroit Field Office and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). It was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, which leads efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since its inception in 2007, the program has charged more than 5,800 individuals responsible for fraudulent claims exceeding $30 billion.