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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On April 23, 2015, Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ghraowi pleaded guilty to charges that he and his South Texas Comprehensive Cancer Centers PLLC caused the introduction into interstate commerce of misbranded prescription cancer drugs worth more than $900,000, from CanadaDrugs subsidiary Montana Healthcare Solutions. His indictment noted that he purchased misbranded cancer drugs from Montana Healthcare Solutions between Feb. 22, 2010, and Jan. 17, 2012. In October 2015, Dr. Ghraowi filed suit against the CanadaDrugs subsidiary for destroying both his business and his career. Who: FDA – Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of…
A pharmacist operating an online pharmacy in Washington DC has been indicted on fake online pharmacy charges, according to a press release from the FDA. In addition, a Florida-based doctor, has been charged with fulfilling prescriptions for said pharmacy for over 38,000 U.S. residents. Titilayo (Tomi) Akintomide Akinyoyenu, also known as Tommy Akin, was arrested at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, according to the FDA. The FDA reports that Akin ran a fake online pharmacy, known as Apex Care Pharmacy. Akin allegedly took orders via the Internet, and then shipped prescription medication to customers all over the United States once…
Dr. Prabhjit S. Purewal agreed to pay $550,000 to settle allegations that he improperly billed Medicare for a variety of chemotherapy drugs purchased 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: February 24, 2015, May 2009 – May 2011. Where: Manteca, California. How: Investigation by FDA-OCI. Additional details: In April 2012, the FDA sent…
Dr. Mohamed Basel Aswad of Deming, New Mexico has admitted in court that he purchased misbranded and mislabeled cancer medication from a Canadian medication supplier. On November 4, 2014 Dr. Mohamed Basel Aswad pleaded guilty in an Albuquerque courtroom to misdemeanor charges that he introduced misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reports in a press release. According to the DOJ, Dr. Aswad “acknowledged that the Altuzan was ‘misbranded’ and from a foreign company not registered by the FDA.” They report that Dr. Aswad purchased the misbranded cancer medication from a “Canadian company” and administered the imported,…
Between 2005 and 2013, there was one death and 11 other patients who required medical attention for disfigurement or serious illness as the result of receiving fake or misbranded cosmetic injectables while at a doctor’s office, clinic, or salon. Black Market Cosmetic Injectables in the U.S. 2005-2013 attempts to describe the scope of the problem.
A doctor in Texas sentenced to probation, and an oncology practice office manager in Kentucky has pleaded guilty to charges that they imported non-FDA approved cancer medication. Quality Specialty Products, the Canada Drugs-owned pharmaceutical wholesaler responsible for the importation of counterfeit Avastin, was implicated in both cases. In Laredo, Texas Dr. Eduardo Miranda was sentenced to 5 years probation and a $1 million fine for his role in purchasing and prescribing black market cancer medication, reports KGNS. In December 2013, the Department of Justice reported that Dr. Miranda pleaded guilty to one count of introducing misbranded drugs into the country.…
On December 20, 2013, Dr. Eduardo Miranda pleaded guilty to one count of introducing misbranded drugs into the country. Dr. Miranda specialized in treating patients with cancer. He ordered cancer drugs from Quality Specialty Products (QSP), a wholesale medication distributor and subsidiary of Canada Drugs. The drugs Dr. Miranda purchased were not approved for distribution or use in the U.S. and did not bear adequate labeling for use. QSP was subsequently found to be the source of counterfeit cancer medications that began appearing in U.S. doctors’ offices. On June 26, 2014, Dr. Miranda was sentenced to 5 years probation and…
Hematology and Oncology Center (HOC) PLLC and HOC’s former office manager, Natarajan Murugesan, pleaded guilty on June 18, 2014 to purchasing and selling unapproved and improperly labeled chemotherapy drugs. Between January 2010 and July 2011, Murugesan ordered non-FDA approved cancer treatments from Quality Speciality Products (QSP), a subsidiary of Canada Drugs that sold prescription medicines from countries that included Turkey, India, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. HOC and Murugesan are scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2014. Who: FDA-OCI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the…
Dr. Yashica Robinson-White, 38 of Opelika, Alabama is being prosecuted based on her business dealings with a black market wholesaler running out of Great Neck, New York. Dr. Robinson-White is accused of committing health care fraud for purchasing non-FDA approved IUDs from Medical Device King and implanting them in patients as if they were FDA-approved IUDs. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reporting that an Alabama doctor, Dr. Yashica Robinson-White has been indicted on six counts of health-care fraud and introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. Dr. Robinson-White is alleged to have purchased foreign-made IUDs from an illegally operated pharmaceutical…
At the end of June in 2013, the FDA sent warning letters to close to 800 medical practices throughout the United States concerning their business exchanges with a black market medication wholesaler called Medical Device King/Pharmalogical. The subsequent investigation of Medical Device King has resulted in counterfeit drug and fraud charges being leveled against the president and vice president of the Great Neck drug wholesaler. One year after the FDA warned health care providers about counterfeit cancer medication being found in shipments from Medical Device King, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against the president and vice president of…