2nd UPMC radiologist accused of healthcare fraud after illegally prescribing Vicodin to non-patients
One month after initial allegations, the second half of a UPMC radiology duo accused of prescribing illegal painkillers to patients is facing federal charges of healthcare fraud, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this week.
Marios Papachristou, 43, has been accused of 46 counts of illegal distribution of Vicodin. He allegedly wrote the scripts for two patients who had no medical need for the drugs but were linked to Papachristou and UPMC radiologist Omar Almusa, who was indicted earlier this month on 88 similar counts.
Papachristou has also been charged with fraud after reportedly submitting false bills to UPMC Health Plan to cover the costs of the unlawful prescriptions.
Both men were charged by UPMC police on March 1 of this year after a Feb. 15 complaint, the Post-Gazette wrote. They were promptly fired.
Though Papachristou’s legal team declined to comment on the case, Papachristou is expected to waive grand jury indictment and plead guilty May 3 before U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab.
Read up on the case below:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.