Trio arraigned in court on charges today in alleged drug mill investigation

Posted by Shannon Murphy | The Flint Journal September 04, 2008 11:00AM

GENESEE COUNTY , Michigan -- A doctor, a pharmacist and a business partner were charged today in what officials allege is a wide-scale prescription drug mill.

Brandi M. Jenson, 52, a medical doctor from Wayne County; her business partner, Timothy C. Desano, 50, of Flat Rock; and a Canadian pharmacist, Manish A. Patel, who owns two pharmacies in Genesee County, were arrested Tuesday night.

Sheriff Robert J. Pickell said the three worked together to bilk Medicare and Medicaid out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Jenson, officials said, would do a pseudo-physical examination of a patient, then ask what drugs they wanted. She would then send them to pharmacies owned by Patel -- Green's Pharmacy in Flint Township and Flint Pharmacy in the city -- that would fill the prescriptions and give Jenson a kickback. Police shut down the pharmacies Tuesday night.

Medicare and Medicaid were billed for the exams and the prescriptions, or an alleged patient would pay $175 cash for the exam.

Police said the patients often would turn around and sell the drugs for a large profit.

"This was a major professional drug operation," Pickell said. "She was making a great deal of money doing bogus physicals and writing prescriptions and charging Medicare."

Prosecutor David Leyton said all three are charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, obtaining personal property by false pretenses greater than $20,000, delivery of codeine, delivery of Vicodin and two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

They were arraigned today and a judge set bond at $36,000 each. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

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