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Joseph Smith, of New Bedford, was sentenced to 23 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for stealing more than $450,000 in VA disability benefits intended for a veteran who was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. For five years, while the victim was hospitalized, Smith and others received the veteran’s monthly disability checks and deposited them into bank accounts they controlled. Shortly after depositing the checks, Smith withdrew the funds and used the money for personal expenses. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government benefits and one count of conspiracy to steal government benefits in September 2024. The VA OIG, Social Security Administration OIG, and US Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.
John Ageudo Rodriguez, of McAllen, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay more than $24 million in kickbacks to marketers in exchange for prescription referrals. Rodriguez owned and operated Pharr Family Pharmacy. Between 2014 to 2016, marketers influenced physicians and clinics to refer prescriptions for expensive compound drugs to Rodriguez’s pharmacy. As a result, his pharmacy billed more than $110 million to various federal healthcare benefit programs. The VA OIG, US Postal Service OIG, Department of Labor OIG, FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and the Texas Health and Human Services OIG investigated this case.
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