MM Curator summary
[MM Curator Summary]: The fraudster filled using generics and billed for brand.
The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.
A Neligh woman is set to make her first court appearance next month after a grand jury in Omaha indicted her on suspicion of defrauding the government of more than half a million dollars.
Danelle Charf, 47, is charged in a five-count indictment for health care fraud.
If convicted, she would face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge.
In court records, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelli Ceraolo said Charf, a pharmacist, owned and operated Wanek Pharmacy in Neligh and Tilden Pharmacy in nearby Tilden.
The indictment alleges that, beginning as early as January 2016 and continuing until Jan. 27, 2021, Charf submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and Nebraska Medicaid.
Ceraolo said Charf filled prescriptions at Wanek and Tilden pharmacies with the generic version of certain medications, then submitted claims seeking reimbursement for the more expensive brand-name versions of the medications.
As a result of the scheme, prosecutors say she caused losses of at least $573,300 to Medicare and Nebraska Medicaid.