HARRISBURG, PA — Two key figures behind a $12 million Medicaid fraud scheme involving Broad Street Pharmacy in South Philadelphia this week pleaded guilty and were sentenced to state prison, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced.
Peter Dello Buono, 70, who managed the pharmacy’s daily operations, was sentenced to 2 to 5 years in state prison. He is also barred from owning, operating, or working at any pharmacy, and is excluded from participating in Medicaid and Medicare programs. Frank Bengermino, 70, the in-store pharmacist, received a sentence of 1½ to 5 years under the same restrictions.
“This was a years-long conspiracy that defrauded state and federal programs designed to help people and families in need, and ripped off taxpayers who fund those programs,” said Attorney General Sunday. “This criminal enterprise prioritized personal greed over the wellbeing of Pennsylvanians.”
The scheme, which operated from 2016 through 2021, involved billing Medicaid and Medicare for expensive medications, including antipsychotic medication Latuda and various HIV treatments, that were never supplied. Investigators estimate that these medications accounted for 86% of the pharmacy’s billings to Medicaid during the fraudulent period. The conspiracy also included kickbacks, with consumers selling pills back to the pharmacy for cash and other medications.
The investigation, led by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, uncovered the extensive fraud. Nine individuals, including pharmacy owner Elizabeth Thompson, were charged last year. Thompson, who is Dello Buono’s wife, was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to share responsibility for $12.25 million in restitution along with her husband.
Broad Street Pharmacy ceased operations shortly after a 2021 search warrant was executed. Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Mark Levenberg is prosecuting the case, with the remaining charges against two individuals still pending.
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