Joan Noalles

On May 5, 2010, Joan Noalles was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and forfeiture. Investigators believe that Noalles and his co-conspirators falsely billed Medicare for more than $36 million for the cost of prescription drug items that were not prescribed by doctors or provided as claimed.

According to the indictment, Noalles and co-conspirator Jhon Barcelo allegedly installed nominee owners for Paradise Pharmacy, AC Pharmacy, Allswell Medical Supply, and Asis Pharmacies to hide their participation in the fraud. These nominee owners agreed to have their names placed on the ownership paperwork of corporate entities to conceal the involvement of the true owners. Paradise, AC, and Asis were located in or around Miami, Florida, while Allswell was located in Doraville, Georgia.

The investigation revealed that Noalles and Barcelo billed Medicare for prescription medications, durable medical equipment, and other items and services, including Arformoterol, Budesonide, and Formoterol Fumarate inhalation solutions and collagen dressings, which were not prescribed by physicians and/or provided to Medicare beneficiaries as claimed. Consequently, Medicare paid more than $10.6 million in reimbursement to these four companies for these alleged fraudulent claims.

In August 2010, Barcelo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to 14 years of incarceration and ordered to pay $13.3 million in restitution.

Noalles remains at large.