LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A judge said a Lincoln pharmacist jailed on suspicion of bilking Nebraska’s Medicaid program out of nearly $2.5 million is a flight risked and ordered him to remain jailed.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart on Friday ordered Scott Tran, 44, to stay in jail, saying the man who owns Pharmacy Specialty Services has kept a secret life from even his family that involved a “massive amount of gambling,” the Lincoln Journal Star reported ( https://bit.ly/1C23X6S ).
Tran was arrested Wednesday after a criminal complaint was signed a day earlier. An FBI affidavit said that between May 2009 and February 2015, Tran submitted 399 claims for reimbursement for a cystic fibrosis medication, saying they had been ordered by six doctors in the Lincoln area. The affidavit said those claims were fraudulent, and many used the names of the children of Tran’s customers.
In all, the claims added up to $2.48 million.
Tran faces up to 10 years in federal prison if he’s convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Everett said during a detention hearing for Tran on Friday that the FBI had learned Tran had wagered more than $11 million since 2006 at Harrah’s and Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and was allowed to make bets of as much as $20,000 a hand on blackjack.
Tran spent more than $800,000 at the two casinos between Dec. 1 and Feb. 27, Everett said.
Tran’s defense attorney, John Berry Jr., argued for Tran’s release, saying he has significant ties to the community.
“Gambling, like any addiction, is a problem, but it’s treatable,” Berry said.
He also said Tran has no criminal history, isn’t a danger, and his business and personal accounts have been frozen or are on hold as a result of the investigation.
But the judge questioned officials could supervise Tran when his own family was unaware of what he was doing.
“This is a man who has literally been able to hide his activities from his own wife,” Zwart said.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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