A Moose Jaw pharmacist has been slapped with a large fine, plus investigation and hearing costs, after accepting more than $700,000 in gift cards from a pharmaceutical company.
A disciplinary committee has ordered Niklas Voelk to pay a $5,000 fine, as well as $14,000 in investigation and hearing costs, according to the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals (SCPP).
He must also disclose the incident to all employers and licencees for the next three years.
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Voelk was the designated pharmacy manager at Moose Jaw Co-op from September of 2000 to October of 2015.
On September 25, 2015, Voelk admitted to the Co-op manager, Gerry Onyskevitch, that he had had been accepting substantial prepaid credit cards from drug company Pharmascience. He was fired one month later as Onyskevitch filed a complaint with the SCPP.
Documents from Pharmascience show Voelk accepted nine gift cards ranging from $15,901.20 to $164,439.08 from 2005-2013.
Moose Jaw police conducted its own investigation, charging Voelk with fraud and theft. The crown entered a stay of proceedings in May 2018.
Voelk’s lawyer, Perry Erhardt, says Voelk has paid a tremendous price both financially and reputation-wise and seeks to atone for his actions.
Voelk currently works at the Medicine Shoppe in Moose Jaw.
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