Carter’s Ortega Pharmacy owner Greg Carter was acquitted of health care fraud charges by a federal jury in Jacksonville.
A judgment of acquittal signed Oct. 21 by U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard discharged Carter from any further requirements of the court.
“After their careful and thoughtful deliberations, the jury’s verdict demonstrates what I have said from the beginning – I am not guilty of committing a crime, nor would I ever condone any illegal activities,” Carter said in a Dec. 6 news release.
Carter was indicted Oct. 30, 2019, charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, payment of kickbacks for fraudulent prescriptions and engaging in illegal monetary transactions.
The grand jury indictment alleged that Carter was involved in fraudulent prescriptions totaling $29.9 million for compounded drugs improperly prescribed for Tricare beneficiaries and paying more than $342,000 in kickbacks and bribes to secure illegal reimbursements.
Tricare is the federal health care insurance program for uniformed service members, retirees and their families.
Carter’s father, William Carter, established Carter’s Ortega Pharmacy and Park & King Pharmacy. In 2002, Greg Carter purchased both pharmacies from his father.