A former nurse practitioner from Western Pennsylvania has been handed a jail sentence of nearly two years for her involvement in writing thousands of fraudulent Oxycodone prescriptions.
Joseph Sapp, aged 56, has been sentenced to “11.5 to 23 months followed by eight years of probation,” according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office on Monday. Sapp was found guilty of writing prescriptions for himself and others in exchange for money, resulting in Medicaid fraud.
“The defendant had a professional responsibility to prescribe medications for people in need, and instead, betrayed his duties by contributing to the opioid epidemic and expanding access to Oxycodone,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in the statement.
According to the statement, during an interview, Sapp admitted to illegally using Medicaid to make bogus claims for prescriptions that were not medically necessary. He also acknowledged fraudulently picking up medicines under fictitious names.
He then admitted to faking prescriptions and supplying medications to others for money.