A Las Vegas pharmacy that spent years delivering prescriptions to local families is now at the center of a $97 million fraud case, with state prosecutors alleging its real owners were barred from federal health programs and concealed their control of the business behind other people's names. Four people connected to First Class Rx Pharmacy face felony charges after the Nevada Attorney General's Office accused them of funneling nearly $100 million in Medicaid and Medicare payments to a business secretly controlled by two individuals barred from federal healthcare programs.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Nevada Attorney General's Office in Las Vegas Justice Court on September 8, paperwork for First Class Rx Pharmacy listed owners other than Abel Serbera-Armas and Zulema Serbera, even though the pharmacy was allegedly secretly owned and operated by the pair. As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the pharmacy collected nearly $100 million in Medicaid and Medicare payments since 2014, according to law enforcement documents — more than $37 million from Medicaid and about $60 million from Medicare, per the Nevada Attorney General's Office.
Abel Serbera-Armas was charged with 15 felonies, including false claims to defraud Medicaid, perjury, theft of more than $100,000, and conducting financial transactions with illegally obtained money or property. He was arrested and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on September 15 and later released on his own recognizance, according to online court records. Zulema Serbera faces eight felonies of her own, including false claims to defraud, perjury, and theft of more than $100,000.
A Family-Run Image Built During the Pandemic
Before the criminal complaint, First Class Rx Pharmacy had cultivated a very different reputation. Las Vegas Weekly profiled the business in February 2021 as a locally owned, family-run pharmacy operating out of Desert Inn and Sandhill roads that built its name on prescription delivery during COVID-19 — a portrait that contrasts sharply with the state's allegations of secret ownership by convicted fraudsters.
The pharmacy operated out of two Las Vegas addresses: 8846 S. Eastern Ave. and 3783 E. Desert Inn Road.
Two More Defendants Named in the Complaint
The Nevada Attorney General's Office also filed affidavits in Las Vegas Justice Court against Sandra Martin and Trinh Ngoc Luu. Martin was charged with a false claim to Medicaid, perjury, and theft valued at $100,000 or greater. Luu faces identical charges — a false claim to Medicaid, perjury, and theft valued at $100,000 or greater.
The investigation that led to the complaint was launched by the FBI. The case now moves through Las Vegas Justice Court, where prosecutors have laid out felony counts against all four defendants tied to the pharmacy's operations.
Prior Fraud Convictions in Florida
Abel Serbera-Armas was convicted of healthcare fraud in Florida in 2007 after submitting false Medicare claims for medical equipment that was never prescribed or provided, and he was subsequently placed on a federal list banning participation in federal healthcare programs. Zulema Serbera was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud in Florida in December 2022 and was likewise placed on that federal exclusion list.
Why the Exclusion List Matters
The federal exclusion list bars individuals from participating in federal healthcare programs.
In Nevada, the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit holds primary state jurisdiction to investigate Medicaid fraud and can issue administrative subpoenas for financial and operational records under NRS 228.410 and NRS 228.411. The felony counts against the four defendants include allegations of false Medicaid claims.
A Case That Dwarfs Typical State Recoveries
Nevada's Medicaid program is administered through the Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy.
The case adds to a string of major healthcare fraud prosecutions Hoodline has tracked in recent months, including a Jacksonville HIV drug scheme. It also follows last year's nationwide fraud sweep that touched Nevada, detailed in Hoodline's coverage of a record $14.6 billion federal blitz. Whether civil recovery actions will follow the criminal complaint against Serbera-Armas, Serbera, Martin, and Luu remains to be seen as the case proceeds through Las Vegas Justice Court.
