MedFast Pharmacist Sentenced to Probation, Community Service for Fraud Scheme

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to two years probation and 150 hours of community service on her conviction of conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Correna Pfeiffer, 39, of Monaca, PA.

According to the information presented to the court, Pfeiffer is a pharmacist who was the manager of the MedFast Institutional Pharmacy located at 2003 Sheffield Road, Aliquippa, in Beaver County. As manager she prepared and oversaw employees who prepared prescription medications for residents of nursing homes. MedFast had its delivery drivers pick up unused medications from the nursing homes and return them to the institutional pharmacy where employees unpackaged them and returned them to stock to be re-used in other prescriptions in violation of state law and federal law. As a result, drugs from different manufacturers with different lot numbers and different expiration dates were commingled in stock bottles. When it was necessary for employees to place lot numbers and expiration dates on prescriptions, the employees were instructed to use inaccurate and false information rendering the drugs “misbranded.” In addition, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers were not reimbursed for the unused drugs, but they were billed for illegal, “misbranded” drugs.

Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song commended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-OCI, the Drug Enforcement Administration-Diversion Investigators, the Health and Human Service-OIG and the Office of Personnel Management-OIG for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Correna Pfeiffer.