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.
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Cancer doctor working in Lodi, California and his wife, who acted as his office administrator admit no wrongdoing, but pay Federal Government $300,000 to settle allegations that they treated patients with counterfeit, imported cancer medication. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced May 9th that Dr. John F. Kiraly and wife Rena Kiraly have agreed to pay a fine of $300,000 to settle false claims act allegations relating to their purchase of non-FDA approved cancer medication. According to the DOJ, the Kiralys allegedly imported chemotherapy drugs from Warwick Healthcare Solutions also known as Richards Pharma. Richard Taylor, owner of, Richard…
Dr. John F. Kiraly and Rena Kiraly (Kiraly’s wife and office manager) agreed to a $300,000 settlement to settle allegations that they improperly billed Medicare for certain chemotherapy drugs purchased from unlicensed foreign pharmaceutical distributor, Richards Pharma. Who: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Health Agency. When: May 9, 2016, October 2010 – May 2011. Where: Lodi, California. How: Investigation by FDA-OCI Additional details: One drug the Kiralys purchased from Richards Pharma was Altuzan, the foreign version of the approved cancer…
Dr. Ann Kinnealey can no longer practice medicine in Illinois after a hearing by the Illinois State Medical Board determined that she purchased misbranded cancer medication from foreign supplier, Quality Specialty Products (QSP). QSP was a wholesale subsidiary of Canadian Internet Pharmacy giant, CanadaDrugs. Dr. Kinnealey had her 2 medical licenses suspended on April 21 for “purchasing non-FDA approved, misbranded cancer chemotherapy prescription drugs to be used in her oncology practice between 2008-2012,” the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation stated in their judgment. Her license suspensions affected her right to practice medicine and to prescribe medication. According to…
The 2012 fake Avastin warnings were just the tip of the iceberg for what is now unfolding into one of the most convoluted counterfeit medication incidents that has ever been uncovered. The supply of fake cancer medication has been traced to Internet pharmacy giant CanadaDrugs and in the last year, 4 doctors have been prosecuted for purchasing fake cancer injectable medications from CanadaDrugs shell companies. The indictment unsealed at the end of 2015 against CanadaDrugs accuses the Internet pharmacy of being the source of the counterfeit Avastin discovered, in 2012. When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first posted a…
Dr. Mohamad Ayman Ghraowi has filed suit against Canada Drugs subsidiaries Montana Healthcare Solutions and Rockeley Ventures, for supplying his practice with counterfeit cancer medication, the Courthouse News Service (CNS) reports.
A Missouri doctor was sentenced for misbranded drugs charges and his Patterson Medical Clinic was sentenced for false statements charges on September 2nd, 2015 related to the purchases of non-FDA approved osteoporosis treatments. Both the doctor and his clinic face 3 years probation.
Dr. Neelesh Bangalore has agreed to pay $736,000 to resolve allegations that he improperly billed Medicare for oncology drugs he purchased from a foreign supplier. Dr. Bangalore is alleged to have purchased several different chemotherapy drugs from unlicensed foreign pharmaceutical distributor, Richards Pharma. Richards Pharma, or Warwick Healthcare Solutions was an unsanctioned pharmaceutical distributor that was a source of counterfeit Altuzan. Who: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Health Agency. When: July 24, 2015, May 2009 – May 2011. Where: Stockton,…
On July 15, 2015, Doctor Robert L. Carter of Joplin, Missouri was sentenced to 5 years probation and required to pay more than a million dollars in restitution and fines for purchasing non-FDA approved medications from CanadaDrugs subsidiary Quality Specialty Products (QSP). QSP shipped misbranded and FDA-unapproved drugs to Carter at his practice in Joplin. These misbranded and FDA-unapproved drugs were administered to Carter’s cancer patients and Carter was reimbursed by government and private health insurance programs. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Carter must cease practicing medicine in Missouri during the probation period. Who: FDA – Office of…
Dr. Anda Norbergs was the head doctor, owner, and operator of East Lake Oncology (ELO), a cancer treatment clinic located in Palm Harbor. Beginning at around June 2009, it is alleged that she began ordering drugs from foreign distributors, including CanadaDrugs subsidiary Quality Specialty Products (QSP). The drugs she purchased included drugs from foreign businesses that had not been registered with or approved by the FDA. The drugs were typically shipped directly to ELO from a location outside the United States, such as the United Kingdom or Canada. The packaging for the drugs clearly demonstrated that they were manufactured and…
Every healthcare professional who purchases medication is familiar with faxes from persistent direct sales companies that inundate the office with daily price lists. Regardless of the supplier, purchasing or using non-FDA-approved drug products exposes the physician to criminal and civil liability. The medication doesn’t even have to be counterfeit for the physician to suffer legal consequences.