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Free – Yemen – Eye – From
\nU.S. Attorneys \u00bb Eastern District of Virginia \u00bb News – FBI<\/p>\n
Doctor Sentenced for Accepting Illegal Kickback Payments in Return for Writing Prescriptions for Compounded Drugs, Will Pay $3.1 Million in Civil Settlement<\/p>\n
ALEXANDRIA, Va. \u2013 A doctor licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere was sentenced today to 3 years for writing and referring compounded drug prescriptions in return for illegal kickback payments. The doctor previously entered into a civil settlement with the Government that requires him and the company he owned to pay $3.1 million.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Dr. Thomas Raley, Jr., 53, of Baltimore, Maryland, was a physician specializing in orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, and comprehensive pain management services, who has practiced in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere since 1998. Raley was also the owner of a medical practice, which had offices in both Virginia and Maryland. In 2013, Raley and Seth Michael Myers, 53, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, began soliciting pharmacists to pay them kickbacks in return for Raley referring expensive compounded medications to the pharmacies.<\/p>\n
Raley\u2019s first illegal kickback arrangement was with Michael Beatty, 53, of Finksburg, Maryland, who worked as a licensed pharmacist at Fallston Pharmacy in Fallston, Maryland. From in and around the spring or summer of 2013 to the summer of 2014, Raley and Myers conspired with Beatty to receive kickbacks for Raley\u2019s referral of expensive compounded medications, which were billed to federal health care benefit programs, such as TRICARE, Medicare, and Medicaid. Ultimately, Raley was unhappy with his arrangement with Beatty because he did not find it lucrative enough.<\/p>\n
Raley chose to pursue other more lucrative illegal kickback arrangements. In and around late 2013, he met with Mohamed Abdalla, 48, of Allendale, New Jersey, who owned multiple pharmacies in northern Virginia, including Medex Health Pharmacy in Falls Church and Royal Care Pharmacy in Fairfax. Then, in and around May 2014, Raley, Myers, and Abdalla cemented their illegal kickback arrangement. As part of this arrangement, Raley agreed to refer expensive compounded medications to Abdalla\u2019s pharmacies and in return Abdalla agreed to pay Raley 80% of the resulting profit. Over the course of 18 months, Abdalla paid Raley approximately $2.5 million in illegal kickback payments.<\/p>\n