Pharmacist Ronald Kielar Sentenced to 7 Years for Billing Insurers $1.7 Million for Procrit He Never Dispensed

Case from 2014 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Feb. 25, 2014). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Ronald Kielar, a pharmacist at the former Cartagena Pharmacy on West Devon Avenue in Chicago, was sentenced on Feb. 21, 2014, to seven years in federal prison. He had collected more than $1.7 million from health insurers for the drug Procrit, which he never dispensed, using customers' identities without their knowledge, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to court documents and trial evidence, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. Borrowed identities: Kielar used pharmacy customers' names, birth dates and insurance information to bill for Procrit, a drug that stimulates red blood cell production. The customers had never been prescribed it and never authorized the claims.
2. A friend's credentials: He used the name and DEA registration number of a physician who had been his friend for 40 years, without permission.
3. Volume: From November 2004 to August 2010, he submitted 603 false claims and received more than $1.7 million from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and a union health benefit fund.
4. Cover-up: After he was indicted, he forged prescriptions, patient receipts and invoices to make the claims look legitimate. That led to an obstruction of justice count.

The proceeds paid salaries to Kielar and his ex-wife, who owned the pharmacy, and covered mortgages on homes in Illinois, Florida and Arizona.

The person sentenced

Ronald Kielar, 76, Mundelein, Ill.

• Convicted: at trial in fall 2013 on all 10 counts: six counts of health care fraud, one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
• Sentence: five years plus a mandatory consecutive two years, for 84 months in total, imposed by U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.725 million in restitution and to forfeit nearly $78,000 from the sale of Florida property [1].

Red flags

• Insurance statements showing prescriptions you never filled, especially expensive injectable drugs.
• A doctor's name on a claim from a provider you haven't seen.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Review explanation of benefits statements from your insurer, and check your pharmacy history through your insurer's portal.
2. Report suspicious claims to your insurer's fraud unit. For union or employer plans, also report to the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Ronald Kielar, Mundelein, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Dow)	Convicted at trial fall 2013 on 10 counts; sentenced Feb. 21, 2014, to 84 months; $1.725M+ restitution	[1]

The sentence was imposed in 2014; we have not found a source on Kielar's current custody status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Pharmacist Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For Obtaining $1.7 Million From Health Insurers For Drug He Never Dispensed," Feb. 25, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/pharmacist-sentenced-seven-years-prison-obtaining-17-million-health-insurers-drug-he

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