OTTAWA - A Prairie pharmacist and his former drug store face a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from the federal government over allegations they fleeced the aboriginal health-benefits plan.
A newly released report and documents filed in a Manitoba court allege Murvin Abas and Fisher Pharmacy submitted phoney claims to the Non-Insured Health Benefits program, overcharged for some products and had excessively high dispensing fees.
Ottawa is now suing Abas and the pharmacy for $3.1 million.
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and a statement of defence has yet to be filed.
The claims are the latest to surface as part of a months-long investigation by The Canadian Press into a string of alleged wrongdoings involving federal money for aboriginal health care.
Abas declined to discuss his case during a brief telephone interview.
The federal NIHB program provides health-benefit coverage to eligible members of First Nations and Inuit communities when they are not insured by private or provincial plans.
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