Paul Hughes of Omaha, Neb., was sentenced for fraudulently obtaining controlled substances and making false statements to the federal government, according to a June 6 news release from the Justice Department.
What happened?
- Between March 2020 and May 2021, Mr. Hughes used both his real name and fictitious business entities to submit fraudulent information to the CMS in order to obtain National Provider Identifier numbers.
- On March 21, 2020, he submitted an NPI application falsely claiming to be both a physician and an advanced registered nurse practitioner. CMS temporarily issued him an NPI number based on that false information, which he then used to submit fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacies.
- In March 2021, over the span of three days, Mr. Hughes used the name of a licensed physician to electronically submit a prescription for at least one Schedule III controlled substance to a local pharmacy. He later admitted to law enforcement that he had impersonated the physician to carry out the fraud.
- Mr. Hughes was sentenced to 48 months in prison for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and 54 months for making false statements, with the sentences to be served concurrently.
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