MIAMI — A former pharmacy CEO from Palm Beach Gardens faces up to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty Friday to lying to federal agents.
Federal investigators said Patrick Smith, 71, the former CEO of Patient Care America (PCA), a compounding pharmacy located in Broward County, pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents who were investigating PCA for various health care fraud offenses.
According to court records, Smith admitted that in March 2020 he voluntarily met with DCIS agents who were investigating PCA on allegations of health care fraud and payment of illegal kickbacks.
During that interview, prosecutors said Smith lied to agents about his role in hiring the marketing groups who were paid by PCA to recruit Tricare patients.
The Department of Justice said Smith claimed that he played no role in vetting the marketing groups. However, investigators said documents and witness testimony established that he frequently met with the marketing groups and decided which to hire and on what terms.
Prosecutors said PCA paid more than $40 million in kickbacks to the marketers. To date, a dozen of PCA's marketers have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years for their roles in the scheme.
A judge has not set a date for Smith's sentencing.