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On Thursday, April 13, 2023, nine co-conspirators were sentenced to various prison terms for their respective roles in a fraud scheme in which they submitted false claims to Tricare and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. As far back as 2015, The Health Law Offices of Anthony C. Vitale, who specialize in healthcare law, have been writing about the feds cracking down on compounding pharmacy fraud. The notable Harris County couple were a few in the scam involving 9 defendants who were sentenced for their respective roles in a scheme to defraud the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and a healthcare program for U.S. service members and their families. A Houston couple was sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a $126 million fraud scheme. Former compounding pharmacy co-owners John Cruise, LaShonia Johnson and Kenny Ozoude were sentenced to 20 years, 20 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.
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Recently reopened, the port of Houston is growing its number of cruise departures. Keith Hudson, 55, of Humble, Texas, a pharmacist licensed in Texas and pharmacist-in-charge at ACP, was sentenced to 3 years in prison. James Don Jackson, 63, of Tyler, Texas, a medical doctor licensed in Texas, was sentenced to five years in prison.Nirvana Hightower, 56, of Houston, a pharmacist licensed in Texas and pharmacist-in-charge at Compounding Solutions LLC, was sentenced to five years in prison. Sadly it is being reported that John has been sentenced to 20 years and his wife 15 years for fraud back in April. If you love Houston’s restaurant scene then it is highly likely that you have come across Phil & Derek’s Jazz Lounge & Restaurant owned by John Cruise and his spouse, LaShonia Johnson.
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Their relationship started out on a professional level, as they were both in the real estate industry and met on the premise of potentially doing business together. Shon was a real estate appraiser and construction contractor, and John handled finance. “Over the years, Shon and I spent many hours strategizing and developing business ideas for projects that eventually led to a profitable business relationship,” John says. The drugs were then mailed to patients, who often hadn't requested or needed them, the department said. Healthcare fraud investigations involve complex healthcare and pharmacy matters requiring legal counsel with knowledge and experience in TRICARE and healthcare law.
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Cruise received a 20-year prison term and was ordered to pay around $32 million in restitution. His wife, Johnson, was sentenced to 15 years and also required to pay $32 million in restitution, mirroring her husband’s penalty. Kenny Ozoude, James Don Jackson, Nirvana Hightower, Keith Hudson, Audra Jones, Terrance Aice and Sherod Johnson were also sentenced for their involvements in the scheme.
years in prison cumulatively for physician, 8 others in $126M Tricare fraud
Kenny Ozoude, 48, of Houston, former owner of Compounding Solutions LLC, a Houston-based pharmacy, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. John Cruise and his wife, LaShonia Johnson, once jointly owned both the Phil & Derek’s Restaurant and Jazz Lounge and the Assurance Consolidated Pharmacy. The husband also owned the Injured Federal Workers Advocate Association (IFWAA). When the couple went down for running a scam through two of the businesses, the eatery, which had been a popular destination for African-Americans in the city, experienced struggle and had to assume new ownership.
How new 49er Logan Ryan went from a Disney cruise back to the NFL - San Francisco Chronicle
How new 49er Logan Ryan went from a Disney cruise back to the NFL.
Posted: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Prominent Houston Couple Sentenced to Combined 35 Years for $126M Fraud Scheme
Prominent Houston couple John Cruise and his wife, LaShonia Johnson, were sentenced to a combined 35 years in federal prison after being convicted of fraud. Department of Justice, the nine took part in a years-long multistate scheme to defraud the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and TRICARE, the healthcare program for U.S. service members and their families. A Houston power couple has been sentenced to a combined 35 years in federal prison after being convicted of fraud.
The president of another pharmacy in Houston also participated in the fraud, according to court documents. Cruise and his wife jointly owned both the Phil & Derek’s Restaurant and Jazz Lounge and the Assurance Consolidated Pharmacy. They allegedly participated in the scheme when they experienced struggle and had to assume new ownership. A Florida man was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for using his hedge fund management company as part of a years-long, multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
A New Jersey doctor was sentenced today to two years in prison and barred from practicing medicine for unlawfully distributing addictive opioids without performing necessary patient assessments. A New York man was resentenced today to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $39 million in restitution for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care kickback and tax... They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and if you visit Houston, you’ll believe it. This is the largest city in Texas and has the fourth largest population of any city in the country.
Those drugs were then mailed to patients, despite the patients never requesting them. The couple, 52-year-old John Cruise and 50-year-old LaShonia Jackson, owned a Harris County pharmacy, according to the U.S. The nine defendants submitted false claims to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and TRICARE for prescriptions of drugs normally prescribed to injured federal workers. The defendants paid kickbacks to patient recruiters and physicians to prescribe the drugs, according to the U.S. John Cruise and his wife, LaShonia Johnson, were the co-owners of Assurance Consolidated Pharmacy in Spring, Texas, and Cruise was the owner of the Injured Federal Workers Advocate Association (“IFWAA”). He, along with other members of the conspiracy, recruited injured federal workers or claimants to sign up with the IFWAA in exchange for free assistance with their workers’ compensation claims.
Chris Brown has the streets of social media lit with his new diss track "Weakest... LaShonia Johnson, 50, of Houston, a former co-owner of ACP with her husband and co-defendant Cruise, and director at IFWAA, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Cruise was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, while Johnson was sentenced to 15 years. Fans of the restaurant seem grateful that this soul food staple did not go under because its previous owners did. Cruise and Johnson were hit with the hardest sentences for their significant involvement in the scheme.
It wasn’t until 18 years of friendship later that Shon and John’s relationship shifted. One night, the two were at Shon’s home drinking wine, and having a deep discussion about business, sex, religion, God, and marriage. “It’s not the most romantic story, but our decision to get married and become a family was sort of discussed like we do most of the business deals we consider,” John describes. Sherod Johnson, 44, of Las Vegas, a patient recruiter, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison. Terrance Aice, 50, of Carrollton, Texas, a patient recruiter, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison. Cruise and Johnson also ran a pharmacy in Texas that dispensed the compounded medicines.
Three doctors and two pharmacy operators have been indicted in connection with a compounded drug scheme that defrauded the federal workers' compensation program and Tricare out of almost $40 million, prosecutors said. Cruise, a former co-owner of Assurance Consolidated Pharmacy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to the department. Other defendants were given shorter sentences, ranging from one to ten years in federal prison. John Cruise, 52, of Houston, a former co-owner of Assurance Consolidated Pharmacy (ACP), a pharmacy located in Spring, Texas, as well as an owner of the Injured Federal Workers Advocate Association (IFWAA), an organization that purported to assist injured federal workers, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Pharmacists Nirvana Hightower and Keith Hudson were sentenced to five and three years, respectively, the department said. The fraudulent operations involved doctors in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio, and pharmacies, and federal worker advocates in Houston, federal prosecutors told the Houston Chronicle newspaper. “This is completely sad, however, folks without melanin have been doing ish like this for years! I don’t respect anyone that has to abuse someone’s healthcare but we seem to get stiffer punishments,” wrote another. Four additional defendants (Dr. Jay Bender, Dr. Deepak Chavda, Donathan Kemp, and Naresh Jivanji) are scheduled to be sentenced on May 25.
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