Two South Jersey firefighters were sentenced July 12 for their respective roles in a wide-spread and multimillion-dollar health care fraud conspiracy.

The men – Thomas Sher, 50, of Northfield, and Christopher Broccoli, 51, of West Deptford – had been charged for their roles in a criminal conspiracy alleging that state and local government employees were recruited and compensated to receive medically unnecessary compound prescription medications.

“Sher and others recruited almost 70 people into the scheme and caused the pharmacy benefits administrator to pay out more than $7 million for medically unnecessary compound prescription medications,” according to case documents, court statements and trial evidence.

Prosecutors say that Sher, a former Margate firefighter who has two brothers also implicated in the scheme, directly received approximately $115,000 from the plot. After a 12-day trial last year, he was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. At Wednesday’s sentencing, Judge Robert Kugler accused Sher of obstructing justice during trial testimony, and alleged that he attempted to tamper with witnesses and devise a cover-up story in advance of the trial.

Sher was sentenced to 96 months in prison.

Prosecutors say that Broccoli, a former Camden firefighter, caused the pharmacy benefits administrator to pay out millions of dollars for these medications for individuals he recruited into the scheme, directly receiving $150,315. Last July, Broccoli pleaded guilty before Kugler to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

So far, 50 people have been charged in connection with the conspiracy, 46 of which have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.