(WNY News Now) A former certified registered nurse practitioner has been sentenced for defrauding Medicaid and fueling the opioid crisis through fraudulent Oxycodone prescriptions.
HARRISBURG Joseph G. Sapp, 56, a former certified registered nurse practitioner from western Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in jail, followed by eight years of probation, for his involvement in a large-scale prescription fraud scheme.
The Office of Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that Sapp pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including possession with intent to deliver, Medicaid fraud, and forgery. Investigators uncovered that Sapp had written fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of Oxycodone pills, filling them at pharmacies in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette, and Washington counties.
Sapp used the fraudulent prescriptions for his personal use and sold them to others for profit, defrauding Medicaid in the process. During the investigation, Sapp admitted to submitting false Medicaid claims, forging prescriptions, and obtaining prescriptions under false identities.
The defendant had a professional responsibility to prescribe medications for people in need, and instead, betrayed his duties by contributing to the opioid epidemic and expanding access to Oxycodone, Attorney General Henry said. Those who administer these powerful medications will be held to the highest standard, and remain accountable when they break the law.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Office of Attorney General s Bureau of Narcotics Investigations, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Penn Township Police Department, the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, the Westmoreland County Sheriff s Office, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorneys General Thomas R. Grace and Edward Song.