Pittsburgh Woman Sentenced for Health Care Fraud and Prescription Painkiller Distribution Scheme

PITTSBURGH - A local woman has been sentenced in federal court to three years probation on her conviction of health care fraud and conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone and Oxymorphone, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence yesterday on Angela Vernon, 66, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, Vernon was part of a group of individuals involved in a large-scale health care fraud and pill distribution network. As part of the criminal enterprise, Vernon and others obtained powerful and addictive prescription pain medication through physicians under the false pretense that they intended to use that medication themselves. In fact, they intended to sell the medication to individuals addicted to those medications. Additionally, medication was often paid for through taxpayer-funded health care insurance programs. Thus, the taxpayers ended paying much of the prescription medications that these conspirators sold.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of these defendants.