A Connecticut judge ordered a Florida-based pharmacy to pay $39 million for a kickback scheme involving illegal payments to retired state employees for costly compound drug prescriptions.

Hartford Superior Court Judge John B. Farley levied the fines and damages against Assured Rx LLC following a seven-day trial in January.

Assured Rx was accused of orchestrating a kickback-to-beneficiary scheme with retired Department of Correction employee Nicholas Maulucci and his ex-wife Lisette Martinez, an employee at Assured's compounding division, to recruit and pay retired state employees to obtain costly compound drug prescriptions covered by the Connecticut State Employee and Retiree Pharmacy Benefit Plan, according to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

Maulucci, Martinez and multiple Assured Rx employees "played a major role in paying and receiving at least $2.6 million in kickbacks" as a part of the scheme, Tong said. The scheme ultimately cost "state taxpayers almost $10 million in reimbursements between June 14, 2014, and September 8, 2015," according to Tong.

"Assured Rx's kickback scheme was purposely calculated to and did extract millions of dollars in public funds that would never have been expended were it not for Assured Rx's scheme," Farley wrote in his decision.

On Friday, Tong called Farley's ruling "a major victory for Connecticut taxpayers."

"This decision -- imposing $39 million in treble damages as well as civil penalties -- sends a clear message that this state does not tolerate abuse of public funds. I want to thank the entire trial team for their diligent, determined work in this case," Tong said in a statement.

In the statement, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon commended Tong and state officials for pursuing the case against Assured Rx.

"Connecticut's taxpayers and state employees deserve a healthcare system that is transparent and fair, and this ruling underscores our state-wide commitment to rooting out fraudulent behavior and holding bad actors accountable," said Scanlon.