Dearborn Heights pharmacist pleads guilty in $3 million health care fraud case

A Dearborn Heights pharmacy owner has pleaded guilty to a federal charge over his role in a $3 million medical insurance fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said. 

Mohammad Hamdan, 44, was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in a five-year scheme that resulted in over $3 million in losses to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.  

The plea was entered on Tuesday in federal court in Detroit. 

During the hearing, prosecutors said, Hamdan admitted to using his two pharmacies to submit false or fraudulent prescription claims. In some cases, authorities said, the billed medication was not even in the pharmacy inventory. 

A sentencing date has not been set.  

This charge carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release, prosecutors said. 

The investigating agencies for this case were the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.