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
In another case of a medical practitioner stepping outside the secure drug supply chain, a Florida doctor stands accused of purchasing medication on the black market via Internet sites purporting to be in Canada and elsewhere. Howard Skalmberg, Deputy Commissioner for the FDA’s Global Regulatory Operations and Policy, will be the keynote speaker at Interchange 2014 in Washington D.C. At the Interchange, Deputy Commissioner Sklamberg will share what the FDA is trying to do to protect patients from unscrupulous medical practitioners and fraudulent web pharmacies. Dr. Ona Colasante is facing charges, including money laundering, health care fraud, introduction or delivery…
The Partnership for Safe Medicines teamed up with The Doctors Company, the country's largest malpractice group, to educate doctors on this key issue at a time when prosecutions of physicians are increasing. Click here to read. If you can help us reach physicians, we would love to spread the word on this important issue to doctors in your community. Contact editors@safemedicines.org.
A doctor, a woman who posed as a doctor, and the manager of operations at Manor Medical Imaging were found guilty of federal fraud charges as part of an organized scheme to repeatedly bill Medicare and Medi-Cal for thousands of prescriptions, including expensive anti-psychotic treatments. One of the largest Medicare fraud cases to be heard, the conspiracy was in essence a “prescription harvesting scheme,” reports a DOJ press release on the occasion of their conviction. Manor Medical employees created thousands of fake prescriptions for identify theft victims – such as elderly patients, military veterans they found in rehab programs and…
Download the 3 Steps to Safety here. On January 29, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that seven Ohio oncologists had been sentenced to probation for purchasing cancer medications for patients from a foreign supplier. Each doctor pleaded guilty to causing the shipment of misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor, reports the DOJ. In each case, the doctors admitted to making cancer drug purchases from a distributor identified in court documents as “Company #1.” Some of the doctors had foreign drug shipments seized by the FDA. Documents in the cases note that some shipments had a return shipping address in…
Download BlackMarketCancer_Long.pdf (881.4K) Dr. Eduardo Miranda, an oncologist practicing in Laredo, Texas, was accused of illegally importing non-FDA approved cancer medications from a known source of counterfeit Avastin. In December 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Dr. Eduardo Miranda had pleaded guilty to charges that he imported non-FDA approved cancer medication into the United States for treatment of his patients. Miranda faces a year in jail and over $1 million in fines. Miranda bought the misbranded cancer medication from 2007-2009, reports the Graham-Leader News. He purchased the misbranded cancer drugs from Quality Specialty Products (QSP), the same…
On Thursday, December 12, 2013 a federal jury concluded deliberations on U.S.A. vs. Dr. Anindya Kumar Sen and Patricia Posey Sen. Dr. Sen is an oncologist practicing in Greeneville and Johnson City, Tennessee. Patricia Posey Sen is his wife, who manages Sen’s medical practice, East Tennessee Cancer and Blood Center (ETCBC). The doctor, his wife and the corporation were initially indicted in June 2013 on 38 counts related to the purchase and administration of non FDA-approved prescription chemotherapy drugs. They pleaded not guilty to the charges reports the Greeneville Sun. After 13 hours of deliberation, they were convicted by a…
Dr. David Fishman of Euclid, was one of 7 oncologists prosecuted for purchasing imported cancer medication from websites that claimed to be Canadian. Dr. Fishman and his co-defendant Dr. Hassan Tahsildar had already pleaded guilty to charges related to illegally purchased non-FDA approved cancer medications, according to a report from the News Herald at the time of their sentencing. When they were first charged, along with 5 other oncologists in Ohio, it was reported that they purchased the misbranded cancer drugs from a Canadian supplier, according to the Canton Rep. In August, the FDA first reported the indictments against Fishman…
Dr. David Fishman of Euclid, Ohio has been sentenced to probation for his conviction on chargers he illegally imported non-FDA approved cancer medication. Six other Ohio oncologists have been charged in the case. The doctors were charged with a misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the purchasing of misbranded or counterfeit drugs. Who: Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA_OCI), Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General., U.S. Department of Justice. When: November 19, 2013, 2006-2009. Where:Euclid, Ohio, U.S.A. How: Investigation by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal…
Seven oncologists in six different Ohio cities have been charged with illegally importing misbranded, non-FDA approved cancer medication. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reporting that seven Ohio cancer doctors are facing allegations of importing non-FDA approved cancer medications. The seven were each charged with a misdemeanor, “causing the shipment of misbranded drugs.” The DOJ press release identifies the doctors as Dr. Ranjan Bhandari of Liverpool, Dr. Timmappa Bidari of Parma, Dr. David Fishman of Euclid, Dr. Su-Chiao Kuo of Brunswick, Dr. Marwan Massouh of Westlake, Dr. Poornanand Palaparty of Cleveland, and Dr. Hassan Tahsildar of Euclid, Ohio. The…
View larger map Seven Ohio oncologists have been charged with illegally importing non-FDA approved cancer medication. The doctors were charged with a misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the purchasing of misbranded or counterfeit drugs. The accused doctors are: Ranjan Bhandari, Timmappa Bidari, David Fishman, Su-Chiao Kuo, Marwan Massouh, Poornanand Palaparty, and Hassan Tahsildar. If convicted, each faces up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Who: Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA_OCI), Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General., U.S. Department of Justice. When:…