Nashville companies, local Church of God in Christ leaders accused in lawsuit of prescription drug rebate fraud

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging a more than $200 million prescription drug rebate fraud scheme involving several entities, including some with ties to Nashville.

The suit accuses the defendants of operating under the guise of a prescription cost-sharing program for members of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).

The company claims the defendants purchased large quantities of Trulicity, a diabetes medication, through DrugPlace locations in Florida and Tennessee, then sought rebates by saying that the medication had been dispensed to patients.

The complaint alleges that the medication wasn’t actually given to patients and was instead resold on the secondary market. Eli Lilly claims that the defendants used middlemen to submit rebate claims and conceal the source of the claims.

Related: COGIC responds after Eli Lilly files lawsuit over drug reimbursements

The Nashville connection in the suit includes DrugPlace Inc., Community Health Initiative Inc. and Nakorn Wholesalers LLC. Several Tennessee residents are also named as defendants, including Jerry Maynard Sr., Jerry Maynard Jr., Misha Maynard and Edgar Enriquez.

Jerry Maynard Sr. is a bishop at Cathedral of Praise Nashville, a COGIC church along Clarksville Pike. He also serves as the chairman for the Cathedral of Praise Inc. Board, per the church website.

Misha Maynard is listed online as the pastor of operations, and Jerry Maynard Jr. is a senior pastor.

The company alleges that the prescription cost-sharing program was a sham and says the defendants submitted claims for hundreds of thousands of boxes of the diabetes medication between 2020 and 2025.

Eli Lilly is seeking damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits and an injunction to stop further rebate claims without proof the medication was actually dispensed to patients.

COGIC released the following statement: “The Church of God in Christ has no knowledge of the acts alleged in the complaint. The Church has not knowingly participated in, authorized, or condoned any of the alleged fraudulent activity described in the lawsuit.”