Eli Lilly says it has uncovered a long-running scheme to steal more than $200 million in rebates from its diabetes medication, Trulicity, accusing several bishops at a major Pentecostal church of fraud.
The company filed a 66-page civil lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Miami.
Here’s how the scheme worked, according to Lilly: A Florida mail-order pharmacy called DrugPlace bought large quantities of Trulicity for years through authorized distributors, claiming the drugs were dispensed to patients who were members of the church. But Lilly alleges that in reality DrugPlace sold the Trulicity on the secondary market at the same time it was collecting fraudulent rebates from Lilly.
According to the…
PROCUREMENT & EXPENDITURE (STOPPING KICKBACKS)
Procurement fraud usually involves inflated invoices or “fictitious” vendors.
- The Three-Way Match: Never pay an invoice unless you have matched the Purchase Order (PO), the Delivery Note (signed), and the Supplier Invoice.
- Vendor Master File Review: Review your vendor list annually. Look for suppliers with the same bank details or physical addresses as your employees.
- Dual Authorization: Implement a “Two-to-Sign” rule for all EFT payments above a certain threshold (e.g., R5,000).
- No “Cashing” of Checks: If you still use physical checks, strictly prohibit “Cash” as a payee and store blank checks in a dual-lock safe.