Pharmacist Sentenced To 4 Years For Illegally Distributing Approximately 100,000 Oxycodone Tablets, Medicare Fraud, And Money Laundering
(MANHATTAN, N.Y. - - Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Lilian Jakacki, a/k/a/ “Lilian Wieckowski,” was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff to four years in prison for illegally distributing 100,000 tablets of oxycodone, Medicare fraud, and money laundering. Jakacki pled guilty on July 28, 2016, before Judge Rakoff.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Through her pharmacies in Queens and Brooklyn, Lilian Jakacki dumped 100,000 illegally diverted oxycodone pills into the City’s streets. Driven by greed, Jakacki abused her pharmacy license, helping to fuel the opioid abuse epidemic that is ravaging too many of our communities. For her crimes, Jakacki will spend four years in prison and forfeit her ill-gotten gains.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and the civil Complaint, and other information in the public record:
Between in or about March 2010 and October 2015, Jakacki I owned and operated two pharmacies in Queens and Brooklyn doing business as “Chopin Chemists.” During that time period, at these pharmacies, Jakacki knowingly distributed approximately 100,000 tablets of oxycodone based on fraudulent prescriptions, including prescriptions made out in the names of famous luxury brands, such as Coach and Chanel. In addition, Jakacki used the proceeds of that illegal narcotics trade to help finance the purchase of a multimillion-dollar home. Finally, Jakacki deliberately overbilled Medicare by more than $500,000, submitting reimbursement claims for medication that she never actually distributed to patients.
In addition to the prison term, Jakacki was also directed to forfeit $800,000 and to pay restitution of $520,000.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The DEA’s Tactical Diversion Group includes agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, the Town of Orangetown Police Department, and the Westchester County Police Department.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Sidhardha Kamaraju, Jordan Estes, and Louis A. Pellegrino are in charge of the prosecution.
