Aiken man pleads guilty to nearly $2M health care fraud

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The United States Attorney’s Office District of South Carolina announced Monday that an Aiken man was sentenced after pleading guilty to health care fraud.

United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson sentenced Travis Anthony Mason, 52, to two and a half years in federal prison followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. The court also ordered him to pay the restitution of $1,966,194.

According to the evidence presented, Mason, through his company M3 Medical LLC, was involved in the marketing and sale of prescription compounded medications.

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“Although compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug istration (FDA), they are properly prescribed when a physician determines that an FDA-approved medication does not meet the health needs of a particular patient because, for example, the patient is allergic to a dye or other ingredient or requires the medication in a different form,” said the attorney’s office in the release.

According to officials, Mason, and his coconspirators would select people with federally funded health insurance plans, including TRICARE.

Officials say Mason would get prescriptions for compounded medications and then direct that these prescriptions be filled by specific pharmacies.

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“Travis Mason thought TRICARE and other Federal healthcare programs were easy targets for fraud; he was sorely mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office.

During the two years, Mason and his coconspirators caused $1,966,194 in loss to TRICARE, according to the release.

Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the Columbia Field Office said, “Healthcare fraud remains a top priority for the FBI to investigate. We, along with our law enforcement partners, will take every measure available to unravel such schemes and bring perpetrators to justice.”