2 North Alabama men sentenced in health care fraud, kickback conspiracy cases

(WHNT) — Two north Alabama men have been convicted in a series of multimillion-dollar health care fraud and kickback conspiracy cases, according to the Department of Justice .

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Brian Bowman, 42, of Gadsden, to 96 months in prison, and Jason Akin, 46, of Florence, to 42 months in prison.

In December 2021, Bowman pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy. The charges stem from his work at the medical office of Dr. Mark Murphy, North Alabama Pain Services.

Akin pleaded guilty to health care fraud relating to fraud at Watson Rx Solutions in May 2023.

“These crimes cost taxpayer-funded insurance programs millions of dollars and exploited vulnerable patients in north Alabama,” said U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona. “These convictions send a vital message that health care fraud and bribery are serious crimes and will not be tolerated. Thank you to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication in this case.

According to Bowman's plea agreement, he marketed QBR's electrodiagnostic tests to several medical providers, including Murphy. He received a kickback for each test ordered. Bowman received nearly $1 million in bribes just for Murphy's orders.

Bowman also marketed highly reimbursed specialty prescription drugs to providers – including the Murphys – and received payments for all the prescriptions he generated.

Akin's plea says he was a co-owner and worked as a pharmacy technician who helped manage sales at Watson Rx. He paid Bowman and his sales group, which included James Ray and John Robson, to generate the specialty drug prescriptions that would be billed and paid for by health insurance plans.

Among the people he paid were urine collectors employed by Bowman's laboratory company, as well as those who market Watson Rx prescriptions.

The DOJ says dozens of defendants have been convicted in health care fraud cases.

Bowman, Ray, and Robson marketed unnecessary products like topical creams to specialty pharmacies, including Watson Rx Solutions. They received commissions for dispensing the prescriptions.

Under a plea agreement, marketers received blank, pre-signed prescriptions from doctors and then completed them to ensure that insurance would pay for the prescriptions, whether or not they were medically necessary.

Another service marketed by Bowman, Ray and Robson was the electrodiagnostic tests provided by QBR, particularly nerve conduction tests. The men received per-patient kickbacks from this company for inducing medical providers to order tests.

The ministry said these suppliers also received payments from QBR. However, the payments were disguised as hourly payments for the attending physician's and staff's time. In reality, these were bribes per patient.

QBR CEO John Hornbuckle, 54, of Huntsville, previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud and kickback conspiracy for masterminding the fraud. Dr. Eric Beck, 65, of Huntsville, also pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy for the role he played in the fraud.

In other cases, Dr. Murphy and his wife Jennifer Murphy were convicted of drug distribution, fraud and bribery crimes. According to documents presented at trial, he received bribes totaling more than $1 million from OBR.

The DOJ said the Murphys were each sentenced to twenty years in prison. Hornbuckle was sentenced to eighty months. Ray and Robson are still awaiting sentencing.