Michigan Pharmacist Sentenced for $6M Health Care Fraud Scheme
TL/DR –
Isaiah Okoh, a 55-year-old Michigan pharmacist, has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for defrauding health care benefit programs by billing for medications he did not dispense. Okoh and an accomplice submitted false claims for prescription drugs that were not ordered by doctors and not dispensed to patients, causing a loss of over $6 million to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Okoh, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, has been ordered to pay $3,889,760 in restitution and $3,230,147 in forfeiture, including his interest in roughly $1.2 million of fraudulent proceeds seized by law enforcement.
Michigan Pharmacist Jailed for Healthcare Fraud
A Michigan-based pharmacist, Isaiah Okoh, has been sentenced to over six years in prison for defrauding healthcare benefit programs. Okoh, 55, was found guilty of billing these programs for prescription medications that he never dispensed at his three pharmacies in Michigan.
Between 2019 and 2022, Okoh, alongside an accomplice, sent fraudulent claims to healthcare benefit programs for prescription drugs that were neither ordered by a doctor nor dispensed to patients. Their deception utilized forged prescriptions to create the illusion of legitimate medical consultations, when in reality, the patients never met the doctors mentioned, and the medications were never prescribed. Their fraudulent practices have led to a loss of over $6 million for Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
In April 2025, Okoh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Alongside his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay nearly $4 million in restitution and just over $3 million in forfeiture. This includes his interest in around $1.2 million of the fraudulent proceeds seized by the authorities.
The case was investigated by the FBI Detroit Field Office and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti, Special Agent in Charge Reuben Coleman, and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank.
The conviction is part of an ongoing effort to combat healthcare fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since 2007, this program, working alongside the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has charged over 5,800 defendants for fraudulent billing worth more than $30 billion, holding providers accountable for their involvement in healthcare fraud schemes.
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