Crime & Safety
Pharmacy at Center of Fraud Case to Close for Good Thursday
Phic K. Lim, co-owner of the Huntington Pharmacy, made the decision to shut down the local pharmacy after his arrest last October, one of the store's pharmacist's told Patch.
Following his alleged involvement in an $18 million healthcare fraud scheme, the co-owner of San Marino's , Phic K. Lim, will close the pharmacy's doors permanently on Thursday, Dec. 22, one of the store's pharmacists told Patch.
Lim and his wife, co-owner Theana Khou, and 14 others--including a doctor--were arrested in a raid by police and FBI of their business in October. The raid was the culmination of a two-year sting operation that begin with the San Marino Police Department's investigation of a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal.
to charges of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud at their federal court arraignment on Nov. 28. They remain free on bond.
While the scheme involved several pharmacies, Huntington Pharmacy is alleged to be the primary offender, reportedly responsible for $7.3 million in actual losses to Medicare and Medi-Cal programs.
Lim is in the process of selling the pharmacy's patient files to CVS on Sierra Madre Boulevard and San Pasqual Street in Pasadena, said Cindy Yung, a part-time pharmacist at Huntington Pharmacy. If Lim and CVS reach an agreement, the deal will go into effect on Friday, Dec. 23. Huntington Pharmacy has 10 employees; the fate of those employees is unclear.
Patients will be directed to fill their prescriptions at CVS and will receive a CVS welcome packet and letter from Lim in the mail, Yung said. Patient files, along with a two-year prescription history and insurance information, will be transferred to CVS.
The pharmacy will close at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Yung will be at CVS on Tuesday, Dec. 27, and Thursday, Dec. 29, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. along with one or two of the pharmacy's other technicians.
