US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that two former pharmacy employees pleaded guilty, were sentenced, and settled civil allegations as to Philadelphia-based Spivack, Inc., previously operating under the name Verree Pharmacy. These two employees’ criminal and civil resolutions bring to an end the years-long investigation by the US Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners as to opioid and fraud-related issues at Verree by its owner, Mitchell Spivack, and his employees. In addition to criminal convictions resulting in imprisonment, the settlements resulted in over $4.1 million recovered and permanently ban the employees from ever dispensing controlled substances in the future.
Most recently, two former employees, Todd Goodman and Eric Pestrack, pleaded guilty to charges that they knowingly dispensed oxycodone without a valid prescription. The district court sentenced Goodman and Pestrack to four months and three months in prison, respectively. In addition to the criminal convictions, Goodman and Pestrack separately agreed to resolve civil allegations that they engaged in a years-long practice of illegally dispensing and distributing opioids and other controlled substances as well as systematic healthcare fraud by billing for drugs the pharmacy did not actually dispense to patients. In addition to paying the United States to resolve their exposure, the two also committed to never dispense controlled substances in the future.
