JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jonathan Simeon Gholston, 35, admitted he worked with a pharmacy to scam Medicare and Medicaid out of more than $24 million by signing people up for HIV prevention drugs they didn’t ask for, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Gholston’s company set up in low-income neighborhoods, offering free government phones in exchange for personal and health insurance information.
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These people didn’t know they would be signed up for HIV medications.
The pharmacy paid $200 for each person if Medicare or Medicaid covered the drugs.
Most never saw a doctor about HIV, and some were put at risk, officials said.
Investigators say Gholston’s team filed over 20,000 fake claims, costing the government more than $24 million.
He made about $2.2 million, which he’ll forfeit. He faces up to five years in prison, prosecutors said.
The case is still ongoing.
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