$500k settlement reached in Mooresville company unauthorized prescription lawsuit

RALEIGH, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Attorney General Josh Stein announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina reached a $500,000 settlement to resolve allegations of false claims that were submitted to the North Carolina Medicaid program.

According to the press release, Sharon Raynes Halliday and RAPHA Healthcare Services LLC allegedly submitted false claims to the North Carolina Medicaid program between May 15, 2015 and August 19, 2018. The civil lawsuit was filed on July 17, 2022.

Halliday allegedly wrote prescriptions for controlled substances under RAPHA, without having the appropriate authorization or authority to do so. She supposedly used a limited medical school faculty license that had been issued to her.

“We are battling a national opioid crisis,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “When providers write unauthorized prescriptions for controlled substances, they’re wasting taxpayer dollars and jeopardizing public health. I thank the federal government for their partnership in holding these providers accountable.”

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Division investigates and prosecutes healthcare providers that defraud the Medicaid program, patient abuse and the misappropriation of any patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding.

The Federal and North Carolina False Claims Acts authorize the government to recover triple the money falsely obtained, plus substantial civil penalties for each false claim submitted.

In the release, it was noted that the civil claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and that there has been no judicial determination or admission of liability.

The investigation and prosecution for this case was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Medicaid Investigations Division (MID).

The MID has recovered more than $1 billion in restitution and penalties for North Carolina.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.