Federal authorities on Thursday charged a former New Canaan woman and her husband for alleged health care fraud offenses.
According to a 17-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury, Kakra Gyambibi, 37, a physician who worked at Stamford Hospital, in 2014 and 2015 signed prescriptions for expensive compound drugs for patients she “did not treat, examine, or even meet with,” according to a press release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Her husband, Kwasi Gyambibi, 40, worked at UConn-Stamford and eventually became a sales rep for a compounding pharmacy that created compound drugs, some of which cost more than $10,000 for a one-month supply.
Together they “engaged in a scheme to defraud the State of Connecticut Pharmacy Benefit Plan, TRICARE and other health care programs by submitting prescriptions for compound pharmacy medications prepared and dispensed by Advantage Pharmacy,” the press release said.
He was arrested in Stamford Thursday morning and arraigned in New Haven. She is expected to appear July 2 in federal court.
“Based on these false and misleading claims, the victim health care programs paid Advantage Pharmacy for the compound prescription drugs,” the release said. “Advantage Pharmacy, in tum, paid commissions of between 15 percent to 25 percent to sales representatives, including Kwasi Gyambibi’s cousin.”
According to the indictment, as cited by federal authorities, the couple “induced the victim health care programs to pay Advantage Pharmacy more than $280,000 for their own compound prescription drugs.”
“It is alleged that the scheme resulted in more than $1.5 million in losses to the victim health care programs,” the release said. “The indictment charges each defendant with 16 counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Each of the counts carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.”
The indictment was announced on behalf of John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI.