Pharmacy Tech Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud

US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Thomas Anderson, age 32, of Sisseton, South Dakota, appeared before US District Judge Charles B. Kornmann on November 28, 2011, and pled guilty to one count of an indictment that charged him with Health Care Fraud. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both. Restitution may also be ordered.

Anderson was a pharmacy technician employed by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Health Care Center in Sisseton. Between July 1, 2008, and May 8, 2009, he stole a quantity of approximately 10 pills of the drug Hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Health Care Center. The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Kevin Koliner.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for March 26, 2012. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.