Florida Man Sent to Prison for 2 Years for Selling Unapproved Imported Cancer Medication
A Florida resident, Martin Paul Bean III has been sentenced to 2 years in prison in a complex counterfeit cancer drug scheme that purchased bulk cancer medications from Pakistan, India, and Turkey. The misbranded oncology drugs were then repackaged and sold as genuine, FDA-approved medications to medical practices throughout the United States. Repackaging work was done at a medical wholesaler in California called Oberlin Medical Supply. Its owner, pharmacist Maher Idriss, has also pled guilty in this case. Bean used fax-blast advertising to offer the drugs for sale at low prices, and used a call center operated by his now deceased fiancée in Winnipeg, Canada to handle all customer inquiries and financial transactions.
Who: Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), Department of Homeland Security-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (HIS-ICE), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
When: October 18, 2013: February 24, 2005-October 30, 2011
Where: Boca Raton, Florida
How: MHRA advised FDA that they had intercepted a bulk shipment of an unapproved form of Gemzar, sent from a company in Pakistan to Oberlin Medical Supply in San Diego.
Additional details: Bean used the company names Oberlin Medical Supply, and GlobalRXStore.com to help disguise the foreign source of the medication.
Related sources:
“ Internet Pharmacy Operator Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison,” North Iowa Today. September 14, 2013.
“ Internet Pharmacy Operator Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison,” FBI Press Release. September 12, 2013.
“ FLORIDA BUSINESSMAN INDICTED FOR SELLING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF UNAPPROVED FOREIGN ONCOLOGY DRUGS IN UNITED STATES ,” Justice Department Press Release. September 28, 2012.
” Feds Say Boca Raton Man Sold $7 million in unapproved cancer drugs ,” Palm Beach Post. September 25, 2012.
“ Seller of Unapproved Cancer Drugs Pleads Guilty,” UT San Diego. February 5, 2013.
“ Man Sentenced for Selling Non-FDA-approved Cancer Drugs,” UPI. October 18, 2013.
“ Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved Cancer Drugs,” FBI Press Release. February 6, 2013.
“ Martin Paul Bean III Indictment,” United States District Court of Southern California. September 12, 2013.
“ Download Maher Idriss Indictment,” United States District Court of Southern California. May 8, 2012.