Former PIN Rx Pharmacist Indicted On Kickback And Tax Charges
BANGOR - Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Bangor indicted Reginald S. Gracie, Jr., age 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, on charges relating to his employment at PIN Rx, a mail order pharmacy operated by the Penobscot Indian Nation in 2005 and 2006. Gracie was charged with six counts of conspiracy, 19 counts of corruptly soliciting and receiving kickbacks as an agent of an organization that received federal funds, and two counts of filing false federal income tax returns.
According to the indictment, Gracie was the director of operations at PIN Rx beginning in October 2005 and the pharmacist in charge beginning in April 2006. It alleges that beginning in May 2006, Gracie solicited and received kickbacks from persons associated with six internet companies that sold prescription drugs, including controlled substances, over the internet. The indictment alleges that Gracie conspired with these individuals to receive kickbacks in return for Gracie causing PIN Rx to fill the prescriptions of the companies’ customers. In total, Gracie received about $120,717 in kickbacks from the six companies between May and November 2006.
The indictment also alleges that Gracie filed a false corporate income tax return for Gracie Enterprises Inc. for the fiscal year ending February 28, 2007 that underreported gross receipts and overstated deductions, and that he filed a false 2006 personal income tax return that understated total income.
The conspiracy counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The kickback offenses each carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The tax counts each carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison. On each count, defendant also faces a fine of $250,000 and a three-year term of supervised release.
The federal investigation commenced after a referral by the Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Maine Board of Pharmacy. It was conducted by agents and investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.Attorney’s Office.
