Federal charges announced against two New Jersey residents for their roles in a conspiracy to market and distribute misbranded and unapproved new drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a charge of conspiring to distribute and cause the receipt and delivery of misbranded new drugs against both Keith Kovaleski of South Amboy and Inew Maltez of Sayreville…
Read More
As of January 2019, counterfeit, fentanyl-laced prescription pills have been reported in 46 states—every state except Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas and Nebraska. The number of states reporting associated deaths has risen 71 percent, from 17 in October 2016 to 29 in December 2018.
Read More
In Capitol Hill briefings sponsored by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) on January 31, former and current law enforcement leaders sounded a warning over the increased flow of counterfeit drugs and lethal fentanyl into the United States, noting that international drug traffickers and crime syndicates see our nation as a lucrative market.
Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice announced prison sentences for three members of a large-scale counterfeit fentanyl pill manufacturing and distribution ring based in Elmira, New York. The ringleader, Robert Ian Thatcher, received a 23-year prison sentence. Edward Barrett and Dusty Pemberton, both street level dealers, will spend seven and one-half and five and one-half years in prison respectively…
Read More
Two sheriffs in Montana issued public warnings after multiple people died in January because of counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl. This makes Montana the 30th state in which PSM has documented deaths caused by fake fentanyl pills
Read More
The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office in California filed eight felony counts against a local woman who allegedly lied about being a licensed nurse and injected her unsuspecting clients with liquid silicone and illegally-sourced Botox…
Read More
2019 has already been a busy year for fentanyl cases in Arizona. Thousands of counterfeit fentanyl pills have been seized, a woman selling pills out of a convenience store has been charged, a 15-year-old suffered a non-fatal overdose at school from what is thought to have been a counterfeit pill, and Customs and Border Protection seized 254 founds of fentanyl hidden in a shipment of cucumbers at the port of entry at Nogales…
Read More
In a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. discussed the agency’s continuing efforts to combat the spread of illicit opioids and to ensure the security of America’s drug supply chain. Included in their recent efforts, Commissioner Gottlieb noted that the agency has stepped up enforcement and interdiction work at International Mail Facilities and shut down websites illegally selling potentially dangerous, unapproved, and misbranded versions of opioid medications to U.S. citizens…
Read More
Thursday, January 17th, 2019 was a busy day for emergency services in Seattle, Washington due to seven overdoses. Public Health – Seattle & King County issued a public warning about a potentially bad batch of drugs laced with fentanyl – both illicit and counterfeit pills – having caused the overdoses…
Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a 26-month prison sentence for Tzvi Lexier, a principal at TC Medical Group. After fighting extradition from Canada, Lexier pleaded guilty in federal court for his role that saw over $18 million in misbranded and counterfeit drugs smuggled into the U.S. and sold to doctors’ offices around the country…
Read More