Pharmacist Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for $6M Health Care Fraud Scheme

On October 21, a Michigan pharmacist was sentenced to 80 months in prison for defrauding health care benefit programs by billing for prescription medications that he never dispensed. According to court documents, Isaiah Okoh, 55, of Sterling Heights, billed health care benefit programs for prescription medications that he did not actually dispense to patients at three pharmacies in Michigan. From 2019 through 2022, Okoh and his co-conspirator sent false claims to health care benefit programs for prescription drugs that were not ordered by a doctor and were not dispensed to the patient. Okoh and his co-conspirator used forged prescriptions from doctors to hide their scheme, when in fact the patient had never seen the listed doctor and the medication had never actually been prescribed. Okoh and his co-conspirator caused over $6 million of loss to Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.  In April 2025, Okoh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. At sentencing, Okoh was ordered to pay $3,889,760 in restitution and $3,230,147 in forfeiture, including his interest in approximately $1.2 million of fraudulent proceeds seized by law enforcement in this matter.

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