Prominent Wisconsin Pharmacist Arrested on Counterfeit Drug Importation Charges

A Wisconsin pharmacist was recently arrested on charges that she imported and sold millions of pills of phony erectile dysfunction medication and other counterfeit drugs.

Marla Ahlgrimm, who owns a number of businesses in Madison, Wisconsin, was arrested when she walked into her office while authorities were executing a search warrant, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Ahlgrimm is accused of selling counterfeit drugs along with Balbir Bhogal of Middleton, Wisconsin. Both were charged in the federal court for the Eastern District of New York.

The criminal complaint against the pair alleges that the two imported the counterfeit drugs that looked like well-known medications, but in fact had no active ingredients or low or incorrect amounts of it. The complaint was signed by FBI agent James J. Cunningham Jr. The news source reports that an unnamed “confidential source” told the feds that while he was running an online pharmacy from February 2008 to May 2009 he bought millions of doses of an anti-anxiety drugs and weight-loss stimulants, from Ahlgrimm and Bhogal.

Another such source said he ordered oxycodone and hydrocodone, which are pain killers, and erectile dysfunction drugs from the accused. Federal authorities intercepted shipments of the medication and after conducting tests determined that they were counterfeit drugs.

The feds were able to connect Ahlgrimm and Bhogal to the shipments of fake drugs through companies, addresses, websites and email addresses, reports the news provider. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Ahlgrimm was a distinguished member of the community, having been honored by The Business Forum in Madison and A Fund for Women. In addition, she is on the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Pharmacy board and funds a scholarship in her name.