August 2002 issue Pharmacy Today magazine

FRAUD GUILTY PLEA

An Auckland pharmacist has pleaded guilty to defrauding Healthpac (formerly Health Benefits) of $1030.

Last month, Vimal Raniga, former owner of Eastridge Pharmacy, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of intent to defraud by altering a document and using a document for pecuniary advantage, when he appeared at Auckland District Court.

The charges were laid after a Healthpac audit in 2001. They centred on altering dates on prescription forms and deleting stat annotations to claim additional dispensing fees, falsifying quantities of prescribed medicines to claim extra costs, and falsifying repeat dispensing documents.

The fraudulent claims were made during 2000 and 2001.

He will be sentenced next month.

Back to welcome page

Back to news archives