Jailed Delco pharmacist faces new charges

A hunch led a Delaware County woman to comb through the statements from her family's prescription-drug plan, landing her local pharmacist in legal trouble - again.

Thomas James Fortunato, owner of Squire Drugs in the 1100 block of Baltimore Pike in Springfield Township, was charged Thursday with 213 counts of filing false insurance claims, theft, and related crimes. He allegedly billed Blue Cross more than $338,000 in fraudulent claims, according to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office.

In August 2010, Lorraine Devlin, Springfield Township's health officer, noticed irregularities on her Independence Blue Cross prescription plan statement. Drugs that she filled only once were recorded as having been filled three and four times.

"Something didn't seem right to me and I needed to look closer," Devlin said. She contacted her insurance company and police.

Devlin found there were 29 unauthorized billings to her insurance company for eight medications she and her husband, John, had not requested or received, according to court records. Fortunato retracted some of the claims and repaid the insurance company.

District Attorney G. Michael Green said an investigation found that Fortunato, 48, of Warrington, had allegedly filled prescriptions for 10 to 15 other people with over-the-counter medications and billed Blue Cross for the prescription amount.

Green said he was not aware of anyone reporting any serious medical issues as a result of the alleged drug switch.

Much of the alleged scheme came to light when Independence Blue Cross conducted its own audit, Green said.

Fortunato's motive may have been "personal enrichment," Green said. He said he did not know whether any other insurance providers were fraudulently billed.

Green said medical billing statements can contain irregularities; some may be paperwork errors, but others could be insurance fraud.

"For this reason, you should take the time to protect your benefits," he said.

The county charges against Fortunato come as he serves time on federal charges.

In April 2010, he was charged by federal authorities with conspiracy and unlawful distribution when he filled 120 false prescriptions. Those drugs were later sold on the street by Harvey Penn, Mikhail Elam, John Kerzner, and others. Penn, Elam, and Kerzner were indicted for conspiracy and unlawful possession with intent to distribute. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.

Fortunato pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October 2010 to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $30,000. His pharmacist's license was suspended for at least 10 years.

Devlin said she knew Fortunato was facing federal charges when she called police and her insurance company.

"I wanted the insurance company to know they had been paying out for things we had not received," she said.