A Simpson County pharmacy owner and his wife each pleaded guilty Monday to multiple crimes related to his business.

Joseph Huff, 46, owner of Franklin Pharmacy, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green to 12 counts of health care fraud and one count each of theft of medical products, conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, aggravated identity theft and making false statements.

According to a copy of his plea agreement, Huff and his wife, Jennifer Huff, 46, conspired to take oxycodone and hydrocodone from the pharmacy from May 2, 2020, to Jan. 17, 2023, prior to the drugs being made available for retail sale.

“Jennifer Huff then sold the controlled substances and traded the controlled substance in exchange for other narcotics,” the agreement said, specifying that the drugs meant for the pharmacy were often traded for cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Jennifer Huff pleaded guilty Monday to charges of theft of medical products, conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and two counts of health care fraud.

According to court records, Joseph Huff was aided and abetted by his wife to falsely bill Medicaid on Feb. 25, 2023, for the prescription medications Linzess and Nicotrol, which were then dispensed to Jennifer Huff although no medical professional had prescribed them.

Other incidences of health care fraud attributed in court filings to Joseph Huff involved falsely billing health care benefit programs for Adderall six times from March 14, 2022, to Nov. 15, 2022, in order to obtain a higher reimbursement rate for two patients and falsely billing a benefit program on four occasions from Sept. 8, 2021, to March 16, 2022, for dispensing Eliquis to a third patient who never received the medication.

Joseph Huff also acknowledged Monday to unlawfully using the name and National Provider Identifier number of another person on Feb. 23, 2023, in relation to illegally obtaining Linzess and Nicotrol for his wife.

The false statement charge against Joseph Huff is related to an allegation that he faxed official paperwork to the DEA on Dec. 29, 2022, reporting a robbery and theft of certain narcotics when no such theft took place, records show.

Both co-defendants acknowledge that the quantity of drugs involved in the case amounted to 3,563 kilograms of what is known as “converted drug weight.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky is recommending a four-year prison sentence for Joseph Huff and plans to request that he pay $17,518.19 in restitution, portions of which would go to the state of Kentucky, Kentucky Medicaid, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and General Motors.

Prosecutors are recommending a three-year prison sentence for Jennifer Huff and have determined she owes $5,730.42 in restitution to the state Medicaid program.

The plea agreement recommends that the sentences for both people are staggered so that they are not incarcerated at the same time.

Both co-defendants will return to court on March 24 to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers.