A former Walgreens pharmacist was awarded $1.24 million after he claimed he was fired for reporting Medicare fraud within the company, according to a Fresno Bee report.
A federal court jury in Fresno, Calif., awarded Sami Mitri $88,000 in general damages and $1.16 million in punitive damages. Jurors said the pharmacist was fired only for reporting Medicare fraud, while Walgreens claims he was repeatedly working beyond scheduled shifts and didn’t abide by management’s orders to stop.
The case revolves around Walgreens’ alleged practice of overbilling Medicare for drugs. It would distribute a portion of patients’ prescriptions, give them an IOU and then bill the federal program for the full amount. Mr. Mitri first brought complaints of this practice to Walgreens officials in spring 2009. He was fired in Jan. 2010 after working there since 1996.
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