U.S. Department of Justice
Jeffrey A. Taylor
United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia
Judiciary Center
555 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530 |
|
PRESS RELEASE
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
|
For Information, Contact Public Affairs
Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933
|
Former Chief Pharmacist sentenced to two years of incarceration
for stealing $95,000 of medication from St. Elizabeths Hospital
--Former Chief Pharmacist and wife combined stole more than $200,000 of medication from two sources --
|
Washington, D.C. – Raymond Jackson, former Chief Pharmacist at St. Elizabeths Hospital, was sentenced to two years of incarceration today by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for stealing $95,000 of medication from the hospital, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Joseph Persichini, Jr., Washington Field Office, Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Daniel Levinson, and DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart jointly announced.
Jackson , 48, of Ashford Drive , Waldorf , Maryland , will also serve three years of supervised release during which he will be required to serve 200 hours of community service. In addition, he will be required to pay the District of Columbia $95,000 in restitution as well as more than $55,000 to the Kaiser Foundation.
“This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the law enforcement community to root out health care fraud and theft. This case is particularly egregious because Mr. Jackson abused the trust vested in him to care for the mentally ill of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Taylor.
According to the statement of the offense signed and agreed to by Jackson, in 1997, Raymond Jackson began working as a staff pharmacist at St. Elizabeths Hospital (St. Elizabeths), which is located in the District of Columbia, under the auspices of the Public Health Service.
In 2002, Jackson became the Chief Pharmacist of St. Elizabeths and had the rank of Commander in the Public Health Service. In this position, Jackson supervised the staff pharmacists of the hospital and was responsible for both the main medicine storeroom and the satellite pharmacies of the hospital. Jackson remained the Chief Pharmacist of St. Elizabeths until the thefts were discovered in October 2006.
Starting about July 2003, Jackson began selling medications through a company called Jackson Pharmacy, which had been created by himself and his wife. The medications sold through Jackson Pharmacy were taken by Jackson from St. Elizabeths or by Jackson ’s wife, Brenda Jackson, from pharmacies of Kaiser Permanente at which she worked in Maryland . The medications taken by Raymond Jackson were mostly psychotropic medications, although some were medications for physical ailments such as hypertension. No controlled substances were taken by either Jackson or his wife. The total value of the medications sold by Jackson and his wife was $235,882. Raymond Jackson admits that $95,000 of this amount is attributable to the medications he took from St. Elizabeths.
Jackson ’s wife has pled guilty for her role in the crime in Prince George ’s County, Maryland , and was sentenced to six months of incarceration. She has paid the remainder of restitution to Kaiser.
In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, Jr., HHS Inspector General Levinson, and DEA Administrator Leonhart commended the following members of the investigation: Special Agent Leah Nemetz of the FBI Health Care Fraud Squad; Special Agents LaTonya Tucker and Troy Yaeger of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General; and Diversion Investigator Edna Holleran-Naughton and Supervisory Diversion Investigator Walter Staples of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition they commended the cooperation of Metropolitan Police Department Detective Glen Kline of the Diversion Unit of the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department and Detective Pam Kruger of the Prince George ’s County Narcotics and Diversion Unit. They also commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Zeno of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section who prosecuted the case.