Pharmacists filed claims for dead

NAPLES — Mother-and-son Sunshine Pharmacy owners Delmer Holmes Parrish and Patricia Parrish pleaded guilty to health care fraud, including claiming prescription reimbursements for people who were dead, according to federal prosecutors.

Delmer Parrish, 44, and his mother, Patricia Parrish, 74, each face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. In addition, they agreed to pay $351,358 in restitution and Delmer Parrish has relinquished his pharmacist license. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The Parrishes, along with undisclosed others, submitted false claims for reimbursements from Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare government health programs, according to a statement from Acting United States Attorney Lee Bentley III. Medicaid is the state health care program for low-income people, Medicare is the health-insurance program for older people and Tricare is the health-insurance program for veterans.

The Sunshine Pharmacy and Sunshine Solutions claims included prescriptions for dead people and for patients whose doctors had not written prescriptions. Furthermore, the Parrishes tried to conceal their conspiracy, prosecutors say.