Sixteen individuals were arrested in Los Angeles Thursday for their roles in an alleged “prescription harvesting” conspiracy.  A doctor at a Glendale clinic allegedly wrote prescriptions for anti-psychotic drugs for veterans, homeless people, and unknowing elderly patients in order to obtain and bill Medi-Cal and Medicare for those drugs.  According to the criminal complaint, Huntington Pharmacy filled the prescriptions for the doctor, but the drugs were never provided to patients.  Instead they were allegedly funneled to the black wholesale market where they were sold back to other area pharmacies.

Government officials stated that the conspiracy had billed for over $18 million.