In the largest health care fraud forfeiture in DOJ history, Texas pharmacist Dehshid “David” Nourian was sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison—and ordered to forfeit $405 million. His crime? Running a kickback-fueled scheme that paid doctors millions to prescribe $15 compound creams billed at up to $16,000 per tube, mixed in the backroom by teenagers.
It sounds absurd. But here’s what should keep physicians up at night: Nourian didn’t act alone. He needed doctors to sign the scripts for their injured federal worker patients. And plenty of them did. For a price.
This case isn’t just about a greedy pharmacist. It’s about the physicians who got pulled in—or jumped in—because they saw a chance to make “easy” money. Maybe they thought it was compliant. Maybe they didn’t ask. Maybe they didn’t want to know. Or, maybe they did know.
Here’s the takeaway: If a deal sounds too good to be true, assume it is—until competent health care counsel tells you otherwise. And no, your real estate lawyer friend from college doesn’t count.
Compliance isn’t a box you check after signing the deal. It’s the lens through which you evaluate every opportunity that promises passive income or a “new revenue stream.” Especially if that stream flows from a government program.
Don’t assume the pharmacist goes to jail and the doctor walks. The DOJ and whistleblowers are coming for everyone in the chain. Before you say “yes” to that offer, talk to someone who knows where these roads actually lead.
If something in this sad story resonates with you, either retrospectively or prospectively (as in planning a venture which does not violate the law) we should talk.
