A federal jury in Arkansas found Dr. Joe “Jay” David May guilty on the 22 counts listed in his indictment for engaging in a scheme involving kickbacks and the rubber stamping of pre-filled prescriptions for expensive compounded drugs paid for by TRICARE. The indictment alleged payment of kickbacks to recruiters who found TRICARE beneficiaries, and to other recruiters who found trusted medical professionals and prescribers, including Jay May, who signed off on prescriptions without regard to medical necessity or examining patients. According to the indictment, TRICARE, the military’s health insurer, paid over $12 million for the prescriptions issued through this scheme.
The maximum statutory penalties for Dr. May’s convictions are five years in prison on the counts of conspiracy and making false statements, ten years on the anti-kickback statute count, and twenty years for the wire and mail fraud counts. Dr. May will be sentenced at a later date.