Mississippi pharmacist David “Jason” Rutland, co-owner of various compounding pharmacies, admitted that he participated in a scheme to defraud TRICARE and other health care benefit programs by distributing medically unnecessary compounded medications. The allegations brought in the Southern District of Mississippi against Rutland included: adjusting prescription formulas to ensure the highest reimbursement; soliciting recruiters to procure prescriptions for high-margin compounded medications and paying those recruiters commissions based on the percentage of reimbursements received; systematically waiving and/or reducing copayments; and utilizing a purported copayment assistance program to falsely make it appear as if Rutland’s pharmacy had been collecting copayments. The conduct allegedly resulted in more than $180 million in fraudulent billings, including more than $50 million paid by federal healthcare programs.