Two Florida Defendants Sentenced in $897,405 Medicare Scheme Run Through a Kansas Mail-Order Pharmacy

What this means for your practice

This enforcement action by the Department of Justice sends a clear message regarding the scrutiny of healthcare operations, particularly those involving telehealth and pharmacy services. For telehealth brands, medspas, dental practices, and chiropractic offices, this case underscores several critical compliance considerations:

1. Legitimate Patient-Provider Relationships: The core of the fraud involved prescriptions issued without proper physical examinations or legitimate telemedicine visits. All healthcare providers must ensure that a valid practitioner-patient relationship is established and maintained according to state and federal guidelines before prescribing any medication, regardless of the modality of care delivery.
2. Due Diligence in Pharmacy Partnerships: Practices that partner with pharmacies, especially mail-order operations, must conduct thorough due diligence. Verifying a pharmacy's legitimate operational practices, its representation to payors, and its ethical handling of prescriptions is paramount. The misrepresentation of Free State Pharmacy as a retail pharmacy while operating as mail-order raises flags for compliance.
3. Vetting Prescribing Providers: If your practice or platform facilitates prescribing, robust vetting of all associated providers is essential. The fact that 15 of 40 prescribing physicians working with FSP were already under investigation for medically unnecessary services demonstrates the heightened risk of associating with non-compliant providers.
4. Handling Patient Data from Telemedicine Companies: Telemedicine companies must ensure that patient data is not misused to facilitate fraudulent billing. Systems must be in place to prevent the diversion of patient information for illegitimate prescription fulfillment.
5. Beware of Profit-Driven Prescribing: The scheme's prioritization of prescriptions based on Medicare profit margins illustrates a red flag for fraud. Healthcare decisions, including prescribing, must always be based on medical necessity and patient best interest, not financial gain.
6. Consequences of Fraud: The severe prison sentences for the defendants demonstrate the federal government's commitment to prosecuting healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse. Operators engaging in or knowingly facilitating such schemes face significant legal and financial repercussions.

On October 16, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas announced prison sentences for two Florida defendants in an $897,405 Medicare scheme run through Free State Pharmacy (FSP) in Lawrence, Kansas.

What happened

According to court documents described in the release:

• In March 2020, Steven Anthony Churchill bought FSP under the name of a now deceased, accused coconspirator.
• FSP operated as a mail-order pharmacy while representing itself to Medicare as a retail pharmacy. Fawn Lickteig's company, Pharmacy Consulting, completed and submitted its Medicare applications.
• FSP got patient names and addresses from telemedicine companies, then filled and shipped medications even though the prescribing doctors had not physically examined the patients or conducted proper telemedicine visits with them. Some patients called about products they had not expected, and some sent them back.
• FSP prioritized prescriptions by how much Medicare would pay. Most were high-dollar dermatological products. Of the 40 prescribing physicians who worked with FSP, 15 were then under investigation for referring medically unnecessary services.
• Between September 2020 and February 2021, the defendants submitted 2,699 false claims, and Medicare paid FSP $897,405.

Sentences

Churchill, 39, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Samson Kollelil Solomon, 28, of Pompano Beach, Florida, were each sentenced to 24 months in prison. Lickteig, 46, of Lawrence, Kansas, is to be sentenced on November 10, 2026. All three pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated.

Why it matters for telehealth operators

The pharmacy filled prescriptions that came from telemedicine companies without a proper visit behind them. A telehealth brand is accountable for the encounter behind every prescription it sends, and should know which pharmacies receive its prescriptions and how they reach patients.

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Kansas: Two Florida defendants sentenced to prison for nearly $900,000 health care scam · October 16, 2026