This was a joint investigation with the FBI, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). United States v. Timothy W. Thomas (M.D. Tennessee) Houston Pharmacist Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Health Care Fraud Scheme On June 29, 2018, Nermin Awad El-Hadik, owner of Hope Pharmacy, Inc., in Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay the U.S. Department of Labor more than $5.3 million in restitution for a health care fraud scheme.

This was a joint investigation with the FBI, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). United States v. Timothy W. Thomas (M.D. Tennessee) Houston Pharmacist Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Health Care Fraud Scheme On June 29, 2018, Nermin Awad El-Hadik, owner of Hope Pharmacy, Inc., in Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay the U.S. Department of Labor more than $5.3 million in restitution for a health care fraud scheme. 

From March 2015 to December 2015, El-Hadik paid kickbacks to Garry Wayne Craighead. Craighead, a chiropractor, organized and controlled multiple health care–related entities, including eight clinics in Texas that derived substantial revenue from DOL health care benefit programs. El-Hadik paid Craighead cash for patient referrals of federally insured employees in need of prescription services and for his influence in encouraging physicians to prescribe compounded medications for patients, which would then be furnished at Hope Pharmacy. 

El-Hadik paid more than $5.3 million to Craighead in the kickback scheme in exchange for the referrals. This is a joint investigation with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, USPS-OIG, the FBI, and IRS-CI. United States v. Nermin Awad El Hadik (W.D. Texas)