United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on August 25, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a twenty-three count indictment against David Guerrero (41) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Alexander Shister (51) of Mequon, Wisconsin. The indictment charges Guerrero and Shister with paying and receiving illegal kickbacks relating to the provision of items and services payable by federal healthcare programs. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Shister, who owned several pharmacies in the Milwaukee area, paid kickbacks to Guerrero, who worked at two Milwaukee clinics, in exchange for Guerrero routing prescriptions for compounded pain cream medication to Shister’s pharmacies. Shister’s pharmacies then sought and received reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid for filling these prescriptions. If convicted, the defendants face up to 5 years in prison for each count. The indictment also charges Guerrero with healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum of 2 years in prison.
