New York Pharmacists Indicted for Purchasing Black Market HIV Drugs for Resale
Pharmacists in Brooklyn and Suffolk County who worked for MOMs specialty HIV Medication Pharmacy have been charged with allegedly re-selling HIV and AIDS medications to patients that had been illegally obtained on the black market. The medications were mislabeled and potentially mishandled and expired. MOMs and their parent company Allion Healthcare then sought Medicaid reimbursement for the illegally-obtained drugs.
Who: NY US Attorney General, Medicaid Inspector General, field staff of OMIG pharmacists, NYC Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor, DEA, FDA, Dept of Health and Human Services, and Office of the Inspector General.
When: April 4, 2012; September 2008-April 2012.
Where: Brooklyn & Suffolk County, New York, United States.
How: Surveillance investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
Additional details:The Attorney General’s office used telephone wiretaps to intercept a delivery of over $1 million worth of fraudulent prescription HIV medications from one of the accused’s companies to the distribution center of MOMs pharmacy. Additionally, the office seized millions of dollars in assets through a forfeiture complaint.
Related sources:
“Four busted in $150M HIV/AIDS-Medicaid drug scam,” New York Post. April 4, 2012.
“A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrests In $274 Million Black Market Prescription Drug Operation,” NY State Office of the Attorney General. April 4, 2012.
“4 Men Busted In $274M Medicaid Grift Preying On AIDS Patients And Reselling HIV Meds,” Back 2 Stonewall. April 9, 2012.