They might be the smartest species to ever walk the earth, but all that hasn’t really saved human beings from making a ton of mistakes. This dynamic, in particular, has already popped up on the surface quite a few times throughout our history, with each appearance forcing us to look for a defensive cover. We will, however, solve our conundrum in the most fitting way possible, and we’ll do so by bringing dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. Having a well-defined authority across every single area was a game-changer, as it wasted no time in concealing many of our shortcomings. Now, the utopia you would generally expect from such a development did arrive, but at the same time, it failed to stick around for long. Talk about what led to the stated setback, the answer will put more spotlight on technology than it will on anything else. You see, the moment technology got its layered nature to take over the scene, it allowed every individual an unprecedented chance to fulfil their ulterior motives, even if it meant doing it at the expense of others’ well-being. In case this didn’t sound bad enough, the whole runner soon began to materialize on such a massive scale that it expectantly overwhelmed our governing forces and sent them back to square one. After a lengthy struggle, though, it seems like the regulatory contingent is finally ready to make a comeback. The same has turned more and more evident in recent times, and truth be told, DOJ’s latest announcement does a lot to solidify that trend moving forward.
As per the Department of Justice, two New York pharmacy owners who “exploited the Covid-19 emergency for their own financial gain” have officially plead guilty to an international scheme of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for cancer medication. The pharmacy owners in question, Arkadiy Khaimov, 39, and Peter Khaim, 42, submitted millions of dollars in false Medicare claims for expensive cancer drugs that were actually not prescribed, and of course, never distributed to any patients. But did the whole thing started? Well, it kicked off when perpetrators established a set of shell companies and sham pharmacy wholesale companies for the sole purpose of laundering money. Once the stated funds were received by these organizations, they would send it to their allies in China. From China, the money would travel all the way to Uzbekistan. It was here that the funds would get distributed among everyone involved. Hold on, there is more. The pair also forged transactions by using cashier checks to send their relatives money from the fraudulent claims, when in reality they were using that money to purchase multiple properties.
“Khaim, Khaimov, and their co-conspirators exploited the Covid-19 emergency for their own financial gain by using Covid-19-related ‘emergency override’ billing codes to submit additional fraudulent claims for Targretin Gel 1%,” the DOJ stated in its official news release.
Apart from Bausch’s Targretin Gel, the two pharmacy owners also submitted fraudulent claims for Concordia’s Panretin gel. All in all, they managed to launder more than $18 million from this elaborately-constructed scheme. Now, as a result, the pair faces upto 20 years in prison.