Doctors Have Been Prosecuted for Endangering Their Patients With Black Market Medicine
Between 2012 and 2017, the FDA warned more than 3,000 medical practices to stop buying medicines from unlicensed foreign wholesalers who had been caught selling counterfeit drugs. Patients who encounter these drugs go under-treated and untreated, which can be catastrophic; at worst, they may be poisoned.
Buying non-FDA approved drugs can be catastrophic for medical practices, too. Since 2005 and mid-2018, 59 doctors were prosecuted for crimes related to purchasing non-FDA approved medications, treating patients with illegally imported drugs, and/or fraudulently billing Medicare and private insurance as if they had purchased these drugs legally and at full price. 57 of those prosecuted were fined a combined total of $37.5 million. 16 received prison sentences.
Learn More About Doctors' Prosecutions
Dr. George Patino convicted and sentenced for conspiracy, distributing Human Growth Hormone (HGH) for unauthorized medical purposes, and smuggling. He brought non-FDA approved HGH over from Mexico to treat patients with it for unapproved medical purposes…
Dr. Diana Anda Norbergs, a Florida oncologist convicted in November 2016 of importing misbranded, non-FDA approved cancer drugs from unlicensed suppliers, has been sentenced to almost six years in federal prison, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times. The Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment alleged that Norbergs purchased prescription cancer treatments from unlicensed foreign suppliers. According to the DOJ, Norbergs originally bought injectable cancer treatments from Quality Specialty Products (QSP), a CanadaDrugs.com subsidiary. When QSP closed, she sought the medications from other foreign suppliers, eliciting a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration in 2012. The letter, dated…
A Port Angeles, WA area naturopathic physician pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. Richard Marschall prescribed human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to approximately 60 people for weight loss between February 2014 and February 2017.
Dr. Kenneth D. Nahum, his oncology practice, and Ann Walsh, his wife and the practice manager, have agreed to pay the U.S. $1.7 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act. They stood accused of ordering drugs from a foreign distributor not approved to sell them in the U.S. and administering those drugs to their patients. The $1.7 million payment is restitution for claims they filed for allegedly using the counterfeit drugs on Medicare patients. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, from April 1, 2010 until January 31, 2011, Walsh allegedly ordered chemotherapy drugs from a foreign…
Dr. Magdy Elsawy has admitted to no wrongdoing in his settlement, however it was originally alleged he provided non-FDA approved cancer medications to his patients, defrauded Medicare, and provided treatments to patients that were more complex than needed or entirely medically unneeded. North Iowa Today is reporting that the owner and lead physician at Hematology and Oncology Center of Iowa has agreed to pay $176,460 as a settlement of allegations that treated patients with illegally imported cancer medication purchased from disbanded drug importer Medical Device King. According to North Iowa Today, Dr. Elsawy is alleged to have not only defrauded…
Dr. Diana Anda Norbergs was convicted by a Federal Grand Jury on 45 counts related to her multi-year practice of treating her oncology patients with imported, non-FDA approved cancer medications, and then billing Medicare, public, and private insurers for the full cost of the genuine treatments. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reporting that Florida physician, Dr. D. Anda Norbergs, has been convicted of a 45-count indictment for her years-long scam of purchasing cancer treatments from unlicensed sources for her oncology practice, East Lake Oncology (ELO). According to the DOJ, the charges included receipt and delivery of misbranded drugs,…
Dr. Paul S. Singh is currently serving one year of home detention after pleading guilty to charges that he deceived his patients and defrauded Medicare by implanting his patients with non-FDA approved IUDs purchased on the Internet. Earlier this year, a Southern California gynecologist, Dr. Paul S. Singh was sentenced to 6 months in prison, along with one year of home detention after accepting a guilty plea on mail fraud charges, 23ABC News reports. In July he was ordered by the court to pay more than $66,000 in restitution to the various insurance providers he defrauded. According to the FDA, “The…
South Carolina medical practice prosecuted for buying non-FDA approved injectable cosmetic treatments. A medical practice in Greenville, South Carolina has been sentenced to 3 years of federal probation for treating patients with non-FDA approved Botox, a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release reported on the occasion of the sentencing. According to the DOJ, “Records obtained during this investigation show that the practice from 2010-2013 purchased non-FDA approved Botox from a wholesaler who purchased the Botox from a factory in Ireland.” Neurology Associates of Greenville was originally charged “in a 1-count Information with dispensing misbranded drugs, a violation of Title 21,…
Although 5 doctors in Connecticut and 256 doctors nationwide have received FDA warning letters concerning purchases of non-FDA approved medication from the now-defunct medicine wholesaler Gallant Pharma International, no state medical boards have investigated any of their practices. Now Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is calling for the FDA to provide these names to state medical boards for enforcement. In 2015, the FDA warned 256 doctors all over the United States that they may have purchased non-FDA approved medication from the clandestine medication wholesaler, Gallant Pharma International. At the time, the FDA noted, “Several individuals associated with Gallant, including a…
Dr. Mimlitz specialized in treating men who complained of a lack of energy. His treatments were actually unapproved drugs from South Korea purchased from Mexico via Internet sources. A Saint Louis medical doctor, Dr. Michael Mimlitz, has pleaded guilty to charges of introducing misbranded drugs into Interstate commerce, according to his waiver of indictment. According to the Felony Information sheet filed against him, Dr. Mimlitz supplied patients in the Saint Louis area with non-FDA approved HGH purchased from an online distributor located in Mexico. The Felony Information sheet on Dr. Mimlitz noted that “the HGH that defendant distributed had different…