NEW YORK — Scott+Scott on October 25, 2024 secured a landmark trial verdict of $39 million dollars against Assured Rx and several of its staff as well as business acquaintances. The long-running case filed in the Superior Court of Connecticut under the False Claims Act, centered on a money kickback scheme aiming at enticing patients to buy Assured Rx compound prescription drugs and seek reimbursement through their state’s healthcare plan.
The Court concluded that the defendants’ conduct was “worthy of the maximum penalty,” further stating that “Assured RX’s kickback scheme was purposely calculated to and did extract millions of dollars in public funds.”
The scheme defrauded the State of Connecticut of more than $10 million in damages, which the Court more than tripled with its verdict.
“This is a groundbreaking result. The tireless efforts of the attorneys on this case resulted in precedent-setting law and an outstanding monetary verdict,” Managing Partner David Scott said.
The scheme involved Assured Rx paying Connecticut State Corrections Officers to go to the doctor and obtain prescriptions covered by their state insurance plans. Assured Rx then paid the Officers for those prescriptions and sought reimbursement from the State. From June 2014 to September 2015, Assured Rx submitted 1,044 false claims which were paid for out of the State of Connecticut’s Employee and Retiree Pharmacy Benefit Plan, a plan funded and insured by the State. Assured Rx’s business generated enormous profits; its revenues increased from $3 million in 2013 to over $55 million in 2014. Nitesh Patel, the primary owner of Assured Rx, saw his personal income soar from approximately $117,000 to more than $7.5 million over that period.
“The victory is a testament to the dedication of our legal team and that of the Attorney General’s Office,” Patrick Coughlin, lead trial counsel, said. “The triple damages verdict, plus statutory penalties, underscores the importance of the statute and sends a strong message that fraud does not pay.”
Joe Guglielmo, a New-York based Partner on the trial team, noted that “the trial was technically very difficult—factually, it involved a complicated years-long scheme with dozens of participants and a financial shell game. This is a great result.”
The Scott+Scott trial team included Patrick Coughlin, Donald Broggi, Joe Guglielmo, Carmen Medici, Dustin Foster, Amanda Rolon, Ethan Binder, Anja Rusi, and Zachary Kranc.
The case is State of Connecticut v. Assured Rx LLC et al., case number HHD-CV18-6101282-S (Connecticut Superior Court, Harford District).