A former Marine has been sentenced for his role in a 2015 scheme to defraud a U.S. military health care program out of millions was sentenced Friday — the final defendant sentenced in a long-running case that spanned years and involved people across the United States.
Joshua Morgan, 31, was sentenced Friday to 21 months in federal prison for his part in the plot, which ended up swindling the program out of more than $65 million overall.
Morgan, who was based out of Miramar Air Station, recruited fellow servicemembers and their dependents to seek compounded medications through fake prescriptions. which were paid by TRICARE.
Prosecutors say Morgan contributed to nearly $4.5 million in losses through beneficiaries he recruited.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Morgan and others worked for Jimmy and Ashley Collins, a married couple that owned and operated a Tennessee medical clinic.
“Today’s sentencing closes the last chapter on this outrageous fraud scheme that almost put TRICARE into bankruptcy,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath in a statement.
“Our military members and taxpayers deserve so much better. The magnitude and significance of this case reflects our continued dedication to the well-being of the armed forces and their families, as well as our steadfast protection of the U.S. taxpayer.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said this scheme, combined with several similar other fraud schemes operated across the nation, had the health care program facing insolvency in mid-2015.
Two doctors and a nurse practitioner at the clinic, Choice MD, wrote prescriptions for TRICARE beneficiaries who they never met or examined.
Morgan received more than $2.6 million in kickbacks for servicemembers whose prescriptions resulted in TRICARE reimbursements paid to the pharmacy, according to prosecutors.
The prosecution’s sentencing papers state that Morgan recruited 28 people, but also received compensation for “hundreds of his direct submarketers’ recruits.”
Morgan was the last of 12 defendants sentenced in the case, which was prosecuted in San Diego.
Others charged in the scheme include ex-Navy sailor Kyle Adams, 36, who also recruited servicemembers, resulting in over $11 million in insurance reimbursements. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Jimmy Collins received a 10-year prison sentence, while Ashley Collins was sentenced to 18 months in home detention.
Others sentenced include the doctors and nurse practitioner who wrote the fraudulent prescriptions, and other servicemembers who recruited military personnel to take part in the fraud.
City News Service contributed to this report.