Politics & Government

Huntington Pharmacy Owners Plead Not Guilty to Healthcare Fraud

Huntington Pharmacy owners Phic K. Lim and his wife Theana Khou plead not guilty last Monday to charges stemming from alleged $18 million healthcare fraud following a two-year federal sting operation that targeted them and 14 others.

The owners of San Marino's plead not guilty at their federal court arraignment last Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, defense attorney Victor Sherman told Patch Sunday.

Sherman, who represents Huntington Pharmacy co-owner Phic K. Lim, said the arraignment was pushed up from Dec. 5 to last Monday and all defendants plead not guilty.

Lim, his wife and co-owner Theana Khou and 14 others--including a doctor--were arrested during a raid on various locations in October, culminating a two-year sting operation that began with the , who eventually got federal agencies involved.

Find out what's happening in San Marinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This is the first case in the nation alleging an organized scheme to defraud government health care programs through fraudulent claims for anti-psychotic medications, a type of scheme that investigators say is on the increase around the nation,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in October.

The scheme involved several pharmacies, though Huntington Pharmacy is alleged as being the primary offender, and caused $7.3 million in actual losses to the Medicare and Medi-Cal programs.

Find out what's happening in San Marinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Huntington Pharmacy re-opened for business shortly after the arrests.



Lim was released on a $100,000 bond after his arrest and Khou was released on a $50,000 bond, according to United States Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek, who declined to comment to Patch in November on what the Drug Enforcement Administration possibly found in Huntington Pharmacy during the raid.

Lim and Khou face trial on Oct. 9, according to Sherman.


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