Texas pharmacist Dehshid “David” Nourian, 62, of Plano, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison and ordered to pay over $115 million in restitution for orchestrating a $145 million fraud scheme targeting the Department of Labor, federal officials announced Monday.
The court also forfeited $405 million in assets tied to his crimes.
From 2014 to 2017, Nourian and others bribed doctors to prescribe unnecessary compound creams to federal workers, which were mixed by untrained teenagers for about $15 per prescription and billed to the government for up to $16,000 each.
Patients testified the creams were ineffective and sometimes caused painful rashes.
Authorities say Nourian’s pharmacies in Fort Worth and Arlington received over $90 million in fraudulent payments, which he laundered through shell companies while evading $24 million in federal taxes.
Following Nourian’s sentencing, the court ordered him to forfeit $405 million in assets tied to his crimes. Evidence showed he and his co-conspirators laundered fraud proceeds through shell companies, funneling millions into family bank and investment accounts.
The forfeiture includes $395 million in brokerage accounts, over $2 million in bank accounts, $8 million in real estate in Dallas and Austin, and a BMW luxury vehicle.
A federal jury convicted him in November 2023 of multiple counts of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
The forfeiture order includes $395 million in brokerage accounts, over $2 million in bank accounts, $8 million in real estate, and a luxury BMW.
The case was investigated by federal agencies.