Mo. AG Files Charges Against Pharmacist

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and Pike County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Williams have filed criminal charges against a Louisiana, Mo., pharmacist for allegedly billing Medicaid for thousands of dollars in medical prescriptions that were never filled.

Charges were filed in Pike County Circuit Court against Jeffrey C. Barnes, 46 (DOB 1/24/58), and his company Jeff Barnes Inc., d.b.a. Best Buy Pharmacy of Louisiana. Barnes is charged with one felony count of stealing by deceit, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and 13 felony counts of making a false statement to receive a health care payment, punishable by up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count.

The charges allege that between January 2003 and January 2004, Barnes appropriated Medicaid program funds of at least $25,000 in value by billing the program for prescriptions that were never filled or even prescribed by a doctor. Investigators with Nixon’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit interviewed numerous physicians who had no record of having prescribed medications, even though Barnes and Best Buy Pharmacy of Louisiana allegedly billed for dispensing the medications.

A judge has set bond at $50,000.