California – Oscar B. Abrons III, a healthcare clinic operator from Southern California, has been sentenced for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme that targeted Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Friday that Abrons will serve four years in jail after pleading guilty to participating in a prescription medication diversion operation that bilked the state out of more than $20 million.
The sentencing took place in Orange County Superior Court, where it was established that the Medi-Cal program suffered losses exceeding $20 million. A separate restitution hearing is planned to determine exactly how much Abrons will be required to repay.
Abrons’ sentencing follows the earlier convictions of his co-conspirators, Steven Derrick Fleming and Dr. Mohamed Waddah El-Nachef. Fleming received a five-year prison sentence, while El-Nachef was given five years in local custody and surrendered his medical license as part of his plea. The California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) led the investigation and prosecution, unraveling how the trio defrauded taxpayers and endangered patient health for profit.
According to state prosecutors, between June 2014 and October 2016, Abrons and Fleming jointly operated an unlicensed facility called God’s Property. At the clinic, they paid Medi-Cal patients cash incentives to acquire prescriptions they didn’t medically need, including HIV medications, antipsychotics, and other controlled substances…