Department of Justice
Former Vance AFB Major Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Taking Kickbacks Involving Compounding Pharmacies
OKLAHOMA CITY – ROMEATRIUS MOSS, 40, a nurse and former Air Force Major stationed at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison for health care fraud in which she accepted kickbacks for referring TRICARE beneficiaries to pharmacies furnishing compounded drugs, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing. Moss was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $622,459.00.
According to a felony information filed on September 30, 2019, Moss solicited and received $73,823.06 in return for referring prescriptions for members of the U.S. military to compounding pharmacies that were reimbursed by TRICARE, a health insurance program for military members. Because of resulting cost increases and infringement on patient choice, it is a crime to solicit or receive payments for referrals to health care providers for an item or service that could be paid, in whole or in part, by a federal health care program.
Moss pleaded guilty on October 15, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Patrick R. Wyrick. She admitted that while she was employed in the medical unit at Vance AFB, she gave military members pre-printed prescription pads and induced them to ask their doctors for specific compounded drugs. Moss admitted she then sent the prescriptions or caused them to be sent to specific pharmacies. Moss admitted she was paid a kickback that was a percentage of the gross reimbursement the pharmacies received from TRICARE for filling the prescriptions.
Today, Judge Wyrick sentenced Moss to 24 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Wyrick also ordered Moss to pay restitution to TRICARE in the amount of $622,459.00, the total amount of kickbacks she received in the referral scheme. She was also ordered to forfeit her residence in Enid.
The case is the result of an investigation by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation–Oklahoma City Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Perry and Amanda Maxfield Green prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to court filings for further information. To download a photo of U.S. Attorney Downing, click here.
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