Man to Forfeit $29 Million in Illegal Online Pharmacy Case

A Texas man was recently found guilty of running an illegal online pharmacy that distributed pain killers.

From August 2000 to November 2007, David Allen Vogel, along with several others, operated an online pharmacy that sold millions of hydrocodone pills and other controlled drugs to people without a valid prescription, according to KFDM, a CBS affiliate. A jury in Beaumont, Texas, found Vogel guilty of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, consiparcy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering.

In addition, the jury gave the government a $24,743,000 money judgement and allowed it to keep the $4,376,471.39 that it had seized from a number of Vogel’s bank accounts.

Vogel is facing up to a 35-year prison term for all of the charges.

Two other people connected to the online pharmacy, Jonathan C. Vogel and Carrie L. Demers, pleaded guilty last December to the charges they faced and are currently awaiting sentencing.

Ensuring that consumers are dealing with a reputable online pharmacy is a simple process if they visit the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) website, a service that confirms the safety of internet drug sellers.