Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that on January 21, 2010, Stephen M. Young of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced to serve nine months in federal prison following his convictions for health care fraud and for obtaining narcotic controlled substances by misrepresentation and forgery.

Young pled guilty in November 2009, to carrying out a lengthy fraudulent scheme to obtain prescription narcotic pain killing medication from numerous physicians, dentists, and nurse practitioners in Anchorage and Wasilla. According to Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Bottini, as part of a plea agreement with the United States, Young admitted that on over 100 occasions from 2005 to 2009, he lied to numerous health care professionals in order to obtain the medication. As part of the plea agreement, Young also admitted that he had fraudulently obtained at least $69,416.40 in federal employee health insurance benefits stemming from his scheme and agreed to make restitution to the United States Office of Personnel Management for the fraudulently obtained insurance benefits.

In imposing sentence on Young, Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline noted that there was no indication that Young was distributing any of the medication and that his fraud scheme was motivated to feed his own addiction to the narcotic painkilling medication. Nevertheless, in sentencing Young to prison, Judge Beistline referenced the length and nature of Young's scheme, as well as the fact that Young had previously been charged and convicted of criminal offenses related to similar conduct.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation leading to the criminal charges in this case.

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