Connecticut State Court Finds Defunct Pharmacy Liable for $39.2 Million in Damages and Penalties A Connecticut Superior Court judge found Assured Rx, LLC, a Florida-based pharmacy, liable for violating the Connecticut False Claims Act (FCA), which is modeled after the federal FCA and has many identical provisions, based on the pharmacy’s participation in a kickback scheme. The court’s opinion comes after a seven-day bench trial in January that involved 180 exhibits, testimony from seven witnesses, and deposition testimony from five witnesses.
The court found that Assured Rx made illegal payments disguised as “marketing payments” to state Department of Corrections employees for costly compound drug prescriptions compounded and distributed by Assured Rx. The Connecticut State Employee and Retiree Pharmacy Benefit Plan bore the costs of the compound drug prescriptions through its pharmacy benefit manager. Between June 14, 2014, and September 8, 2015, Assured Rx submitted 1,044 claims for compounded drugs, costing the state of Connecticut $10,300,746.
45. Because the Connecticut FCA, like the federal FCA, provides for treble damages, the court awarded more than $30 million in damages plus an $8.3 million civil penalty, resulting in a total judgment in excess of $39 million.
The court also concluded that Assured Rx’s founder, Nitesh Patel, did not violate the Connecticut FCA because there was no credible evidence that he had actual knowledge of the scheme. The case is cap.
