An Essex County man was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud New Jersey state benefit programs, , U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Officials say Brian Catanzarite, 43, a former gym owner from Cedar Grove, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of healthcare fraud. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Catanzarite admitted that from March 2015 through January 2017, he conspired to defraud New Jersey state benefit programs. Catanzarite was recruited by one of his former gym members to become a sales representative of a company that marketed compounded medications. The marketing company received a percentage of every prescription that its sales representatives steered toward a particular compounding pharmacy.
To maximize his profit, Catanzarite convinced state beneficiaries to obtain compounded medications regardless of their medical necessity. On several occasions, Catanzarite even paid an advanced nurse practitioner, introduced to him by the marketing company, or used a telemedicine service that was paid for by the marketing company, to fraudulently obtain compounded medication prescriptions. Catanzarite caused losses of at least $3.5 million and personally made over $1.1 million from the scheme.