CHICAGO — Eleven doctors and medical workers were found guilty today of cheating the state Medicaid system out of more than $19 million in the largest Medicaid fraud trial in the nation's history.
Skokie pharmacist Morton Goldsmith and 10 others were convicted of racketeering and fraud charges for bilking the state Medicaid program by running "syrup houses" that illegally dispensed narcotic substances to addicts in Chicago's poor neighborhoods.
Goldsmith faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment upon sentencing by U.S. District Judge John Grady. A sentencing date was not immediately set.
The jury of two men and 10 women deliberated for five days after hearing two months of testimony in the trial of five doctors, three pharmacists, two medical technicians and a secretary charged with defrauding the state public aid system of $19.2 million.
