Pharmacist Who Owns 'The Rock's' Former Mansion Awaits Trial
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 | 0
A Miami pharmacist used the proceeds from a $37 million conspiracy to defraud federal health insurance programs and purchase a French-style chateau formerly owned by movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, federal prosecutors allege.
Serge Francois, who had a previous federal conviction nearly 10 years ago, has been deemed a flight risk and is being held in a Miami jail awaiting trial, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The owner of Atlantic Pharmacy is accused of paying kickbacks to several South Florida physicians who are expected to testify against him, the newspaper reported.
A Jacksonville couple, Celep and Sonsoles Simsir, recently accepted plea deals and said Francois paid their companies millions for patient referrals, the Times said.
He is one of 14 accused of defrauding Tricare, a health insurance program for military personnel; and laundering money and obstructing justice. Most of the defendants already have pleaded guilty, the newspaper reported.
Tricare and another federal insurance network paid Atlantic Pharmacy more than $31 million in fraudulent claims for compounded medications between 2010 and 2015, prosecutors say.
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