Three Individuals Charged in Oxycodone Prescription Fraud Scheme

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Vernon Police Chief James Kenny today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment yesterday charging three individuals with offenses related to the illegal acquisition and distribution of oxycodone obtained through fraudulent prescriptions.  JAYSON KEMP, 42, of East Windsor, ORAL WELBORN, 58, of Columbia, South Carolina, and MARIA PIRULLI, 42, of New Haven, were arrested this morning.

As alleged in the indictment, between 2012 and 2014, Kemp obtained blank prescription paper from employees of various Connecticut medical practices, including from Pirulli, who formerly resided in Newington and was employed as an assistant and bookkeeper at a medical practice in Hartford.  Kemp kept some of the prescription paper for himself and also sold some of the prescription paper, for thousands of dollars, to other individuals, including Welborn, who formerly resided in Hartford.  Kemp, Welborn and another co-conspirator then recruited “runners,” who typically were individuals who received Medicaid and Medicare benefits, to fill fraudulent prescriptions at various pharmacies.  Kemp, Welborn and the other coconspirator filled out each prescription with the runner’s identifying information and forged a doctor’s signature on the prescription.  The runner then filled the fraudulent prescription at a pharmacy, generally using their Medicaid or Medicare benefits, and provided the pills to Kemp, Welborn and their co-conspirator in exchange for approximately $50 per prescription.  Kemp, Welborn and their co-conspirator then sold the pills to individuals suffering from opioid addictions.

It is alleged that Kemp, Welborn and their co-conspirator were responsible for filling at least 150 fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone, almost all of which were for 150 30-mg oxycodone pills.

The indictment charges Kemp with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; and two counts of health care fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.

Welborn is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and Pirulli is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics.

U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Vernon Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.