United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced today that Lisa Kwapniowski, age 49, of Omaha, Nebraska, pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.  Kwapniowski pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp.  Kwapniowski is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2019 by Senior Judge Smith Camp.  Wire Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  As part of her sentence, Kwapniowski will be ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,622,234, minus any payments made prior to sentencing.  Kwapniowski has also agreed to forfeit her interest in a residence she owns in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

An Information filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska alleges that from 2010 to 2018, Kwapniowski, the former Director of Pharmacy Services for Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (“Children’s Hospital”) located in Omaha, Nebraska, defrauded Children’s Hospital out of more than $4,622,234.  Beginning sometime prior to 2010, Kwapniowski submitted to Children’s Hospital fraudulent invoices from legitimate pharmaceutical suppliers.  Kwapniowski then submitted reimbursement requests utilizing fraudulent invoices from a company she fraudulently created.  In early 2012, Kwapniowski set up a business she named RxSynergy.  Kwapniowski began to submit fraudulent invoices from RxSynergy to Children’s Hospital for payment.  The invoices purported to be for pharmaceuticals and supplies, however, neither RxSynergy nor Kwapniowski ever provided any goods to Children’s Hospital in relation to the invoices.  A number of the RxSynergy invoices were for a drug called Broxcilam, which was not a real drug.  Kwapniowski fraudulently invoiced Children’s Hospital at least 227 times between 2012 and 2018.

The Information further alleges that between January 2012 and November 2013 Kwapniowski submitted fraudulent invoices to Children’s Hospital that appeared to come from PharMedium, a legitimate pharmaceutical vendor.  Kwapniowski created fraudulent invoices directed to Children’s Hospital that appeared to come from PharMedium.  Using a PayPal vendor’s account Kwapniowski had created using the name Advantage RX, Kwapniowski would utilize PayPal’s website to make a payment to the Advantage RX PayPal account, using a Children’s Hospital corporate credit card.  Kwapniowski would submit to Children’s Hospital the fraudulent PharMedium invoices along with an internal approval form, which would act as the justification for Children’s Hospital to pay the outstanding corporate credit card bill.  Children’s Hospital would pay the credit card company directly.  Kwapniowski then transferred funds from the fraudulent Advantage RX PayPal account to her personal bank account.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.