Mark Zulewski, Kaushal Patel, Patel’s company Kass Management & Consulting, LLC, and Patel-owned pharmacies Belmont Pharmacy, LLC; Bensalem Pharmacy; Big Oak Pharmacy, Inc.; Doylestown Drugs, LLC; Family One Pharmacy; Penndel Drugs, Inc.; Penlar Pharmacy; and Medical Plaza Pharmacy have agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve potential liability under the False Claims Act. Zulewski was a pharmacist licensed in Pennsylvania when, in 2010, he was convicted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of a felony controlled substance offense. As a result of the conviction, Zulewski’s pharmacy license was suspended and in 2011 he was excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The United States contends that Patel hired Zulewski to work in Patel’s pharmacies even though Patel knew that Zulewski had been convicted of a controlled substance offense, and that Patel allowed Zulewski to continue working in his pharmacies even after learning Zulewski was excluded from participating in federal healthcare programs as a result of his conviction. The United States further contends that, from August 2010 until March 2017, Patel gave Zulewski broad administrative authority as well as his pharmacist log-in credential so that Zulewski could manage Patel’s pharmacies and, on occasion, fill prescriptions as needed when pharmacists-in-charge at certain of the Kass pharmacies were unavailable.
The United States further contends that Zulewski, Patel, Kass Management, and the Patel-owned pharmacies knowingly and willfully disregarded Zulewski’s exclusion, resulting in the presentation of false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.
