Pharmacist ran $6.5M scheme against AstraZeneca before allegedly fleeing Canada, ruling finds

A Toronto pharmacist's license has been revoked after a disciplinary committee found he ran an 'aggressive scheme to defraud' AstraZeneca of almost $7 million before allegedly fleeing the country.

A Toronto pharmacist has had his license revoked and been fined more than $100,000 after he ran an “aggressive scheme to defraud” AstraZeneca of almost $7 million before allegedly fleeing the country with a portion of the earnings, a disciplinary ruling found.

Between 2017 and 2018, Brampton pharmacist Sameh Sadek, owner of MD Health Pharmacy, submitted falsified prescriptions for drugs that were never dispensed, the ruling found.

The pharmacist then used the profits to fund a number of luxury purchases, including a Toronto-area property and a luxury vehicle,a lawsuit filed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice alleges.

In 2018, an audit revealed that Sadek's pharmacy had allegedly submitted nearly $7.7 million in reimbursements to AstraZeneca, but that only $5,000 worth of the medications had actually been purchased by MD Health.

Sadek then allegedly used millions of dollars obtained through the scheme to flee the country and move to Egypt.

Although Sadek is no longer practicing in Canada, the Ontario College of Pharmacists officially stripped him of his pharmaceutical license last month.

He was also ordered to pay a $35,000 fine and just over $80,500 in costs to the college.