New Jersey

NJ Man Admits Role in $34M Pharmacy Kickback Scheme

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What to Know

  • A former co-owner of a New Jersey pharmacy pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a kickback scheme that netted him millions of dollars
  • Igor Fleyshmakher entered a plea in federal court in Newark to conspiracy and tax evasion
  • The U.S. attorney's office said Fleyshmakher and several others used their positions at two pharmacies in Union City, New Jersey and the Bronx, New York to bribe doctors with meals, gifts and cash so they would steer them prescriptions for expensive medications

A former co-owner of a New Jersey pharmacy pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a kickback scheme that netted him millions of dollars.

Igor Fleyshmakher entered a plea in federal court in Newark to conspiracy and tax evasion.

The U.S. attorney's office said Fleyshmakher and several others used their positions at two pharmacies in Union City, New Jersey and the Bronx, New York to bribe doctors with meals, gifts and cash so they would steer them prescriptions for expensive medications for conditions such as hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Fleyshmakher diverted roughly $34 million from the scheme to a secret bank account and didn't declare the income, causing a tax loss of nearly $6 million to the IRS, authorities said.

The 58-year-old Holmdel resident is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces up to five years in prison on each charge.

Copyright NBC New York/Associated Press
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