Criminal Cases

Firefighters Sentenced to Federal Prison For Multimillion Dollar Fraud Scheme

Firefighters Sentenced to Federal Prison For Multimillion Dollar Fraud Scheme

Two New Jersey firefighters are headed to federal prison following convictions in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme. 

According to an official release from the IRS, Thomas Sher, a resident of Northfield, New Jersey, will serve 96 months behind bars. Sher, who served with the Margate Fire Department, was originally convicted on September 8, 2022. A jury found Sher guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud after a 12-day trial.

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Credit: Visoot Uthairam/Getty Images

Sher's co-conspirator, Christopher Broccoli, a resident of West Deptford, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty on July 28, 2022. Broccoli, a Camden fireman, admitted his guilt regarding superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler presided over both cases. 

Per the IRS's report, Sher and Broccoli were involved with a large criminal conspiracy in which state and municipal government employees were compensated to receive medically unnecessary compound prescription medications. 

Compound prescriptions are created by combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to develop a medication tailored to the needs of a specific patient. They are generally extremely expensive. 

Sher, Broccoli, and their direct conspirators recruited nearly 70 government workers to participate in the scam, leading the pharmacy benefits administrator to pay more than $7 million for medically unnecessary prescriptions. Sher personally netted approximately $115,000 over the course of the healthcare scheme. During Sher's sentencing hearing, Judge Kugler concluded that he also obstructed justice when he lied during his trial testimony, and attempted to commit witness tampering at an earlier date.

Broccoli directly received $150,315 for his part in the scam.

The firemen are among 50 co-conspirators who have been charged in this far-reaching conspiracy. Including Sher and Broccoli, 46 defendants have already pleaded guilty or been convicted in jury trials. 

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Credit: Trevor Williams/Getty Images

This case was investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), the FBI's Atlantic City Resident Agency, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, New York Region.

What do you think about this multimillion dollar healthcare scam?

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Feature Image Credit: Virojt Changyencham/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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