Fake Drugs Have Real Consequences for Patients
Black market medicine is terrible for patients all over the world, including Americans. At best, counterfeit and substandard medicine may not adequately treat a patient's illness. At worst, counterfeit medicines may cause poisoning or death.
Each of the following stories mentions people who have been sickened or died after being treated with fake medicine. Every day, American patients are harmed when they break the closed U.S. drug supply.
After three years of evading arrest, Jose Robusto has been booked by Miami authorities for manslaughter and charges that he practiced medicine without a license. Robusto is alleged to have killed Suyima Torres of Miami in June 2013 by giving her an injection of an unknown, oily yellow substance as a beauty enhancement. He introduced…
NBC news show examines the clandestine business of administering non-FDA approved beauty treatments. In the new episode of American Greed, titled “Vanity and Greed: Deadly Beauty”, the NBC show looks at the story of two convicted practitioners of counterfeit beauty treatments. Mississippi resident Tracey Lynn Garner was found guilty of murder in the death of…
A 37-year-old mother is dead after taking what she thought was the anti-anxiety medication Xanax. Her family is asking authorities to investigate her death. In January 2016, Misty Burnett took pills that she thought were Xanax, reports News Channel 5. Shortly thereafter Misty’s 18-year-old daughter discovered her mother dead. Alicia Allred, the girl’s aunt told…
A 19-year-old boy and a 29-year-old man in Santa Cruz are both dead after ingesting a fatal dose of fentanyl hidden in fake Xanax pills. A 22-year-old man is facing charges that he supplied the fatal fakes. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that on October 24th, 2015, two young men at a party took what…
Late in 2015, a group of San Francisco friends took what they thought was the anti-anxiety medication, Xanax. Within 48 hours, three of them were dead due to overdoses of the powerful end-stage cancer painkiller, fentanyl. Three residents of San Francisco have died as a result of taking counterfeit Xanax, according to KRON4 local news…
Texas authorities at both the regional and Federal level have combatting a rash of injuries and deaths caused by counterfeit cosmetic injections. From fake dermal fillers and other counterfeit versions of beauty treatments to industrial silicone injections sealed with superglue, these fake injectable cosmetic peddlers are putting the lives of Texas women at risk. The Dallas…
Southern Texas has experienced a rash of injuries and 2 deaths that have resulted from counterfeit cosmetic injections. In 2014, Elva Navarro was prosecuted for administering counterfeit beauty injections. Navarro received a 5-year sentence for the death of one of her clients, and another 3 years for injecting her clients with a fake dermal filler that…
A County officials warn public about the toxic threat that fake medications pose, and share a tragic story about a woman whose efforts to save money by using non-FDA approved treatments led to her death. An NBC News story shares the details of a counterfeit medication death in Los Angeles County. Esmeralda Mendez described for…
The Rogues Gallery Comic Book series tells the real-life stories of fake drug criminals and their cases. Volume one tells about the Greedy Doctor that lied to patients with no hope for a cure, the Master Counterfeiter whose greed drove him straight into the arms of US investigators, the Black Marketer who sold fake drugs to US doctors, and the mystery Criminal Mastermind responsible for introducing counterfeit cancer medication to U.S. oncology practices. In volume two, you’ll read about The Smooth Talker and his $150,000 car, the Canadian who pioneered the fake online pharmacy business model, and the Hero Nurses that stood between oncology patients and dangerous fake medications.
Update: On December 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated William Scully’s conviction because a lower court “declined to allow Scully to introduce evidence at his 2015 trial showing he sought legal advice about importing drugs with foreign labels from one of his lawyers.” Ultimately Scully pleaded guilty to one charge of…