(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An Iowa pharmacist imprisoned for his role in a million-dollar scheme to defraud retailers will be allowed to keep his pharmacist’s license, regulators have ruled.
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy alleges that Brock Fischer, 29, of Linn County recently self-reported a May 2025 conviction in federal court for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to the board, the case involved fraudulent “refund schemes” targeting corporations such as Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. Fischer was sentenced to a 21-month prison term, which he is currently serving.
The board charged Fischer with engaging in unethical conduct harmful or detrimental to the public, noting that the illegal conduct occurred prior to Fischer completing pharmacy school and obtaining his Iowa pharmacist’s license.
To resolve the matter, the board recently agreed to issue Fischer a warning that any future…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.