Suspended Peters Township pharmacist indicted on fraud charges
A suspended Peters Township pharmacist has been indicted in federal court on allegations he defrauded Medicare in schemes to illegally obtain pain-killing narcotics.
The 12-count superseding indictment was handed down Monday against Timothy W. Forester, 43, who operated four pharmacies in the South Hills, including locations in Peters and Eighty Four, court records show.
Forester was charged under a sealed indictment in June after his business in South Park was raided by state and federal investigators. A new indictment was presented Monday to add a count of health care fraud conspiracy against him, said Margaret Philbin, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady.
Forester was also accused of illegally obtaining oxycodone and hydrocodone by placing generic versions of the drugs into empty bottles of name-brand drugs. He then allegedly sold the generics as if they were name-brands.
He also was accused of conspiring to defraud Medicare through false claims. Prosecutors also said he accepted the drugs without placing them into inventories at his businesses, which were under the names of Pharmacy Center Plus or Library Pharmacy Inc., court records show.
He also was charged with obtaining controlled substances by fraud and misbranding drugs.
If convicted, prosecutors indicated they would seize Forester’s 2018 Lincoln Navigator, his residence at 103 Windsor Court and a sum of $164,659, court records show.