Policy/Enforcement News
Fake Online Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
Juan Gallinal, a former Virginia police officer, acted as the head of a Florida conspiracy that used a valid brick-and-mortar pharmacy as a cover for series of fake pharmacy websites that sold misbranded and addictive drugs. The owner of a fake online pharmacy business in Florida has been sentenced to eight years in prison, the…
[...]Betty Hunter’s Death Illustrates Danger of Fake Drugs
Arizona resident Betty Hunter died of lung cancer, but how much longer would she have lived if her oncologist had not treated her with counterfeit Avastin? A recent Danish documentary tells the tragic story of Arizona grandmother Betty Hunter, who in 2011 sought treatment for her lung cancer at an oncology clinic in Chandler Arizona.…
[...]Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Filling Orders for a Fake Online Pharmacy Scam
The two men acted as U.S. distributors for a series of Thailand-based fake online pharmacy websites that sold imported and non-FDA approved medication to U.S. consumers. Troy Tapia and Anthony Rouse III of Louisiana have each been sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering,…
[...]Cosmetic Injectable Treatments Now Used to Treat Dozens of Ailments so Fakes Poses A Danger to More U. S. Patients
In 2016 alone, over 1,400 practitioners were warned by the FDA that their supplier was selling unapproved so-called “Botox.” With more than 2,400 professionals warned in the past 5 years, the expansion of use for this medication provides new markets for counterfeiters selling fake and misbranded drugs. Botulinum neurotoxin, or Botox as it is known,…
[...]Puerto Rico Woman Arrested for Posing as Nurse, Injecting Clients with Industrial Grade Silicone
Authorities in San Juan are making a public appeal to find more victims of “Rosa from Venezuela.” A federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico has brought charges of injecting adulterated products into at least 2 different women against Rosa Betancourt-Farfán, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports. Betancourt-Farfán is alleged to have posed as…
[...]Pakistani Fake Internet Pharmacy Owners Sentenced in Federal Court
Pair that were arrested in London in October 2012 for operating a fake online pharmacy that sold to U.S. consumers plead guilty and are sentenced. Pakistani fake online pharmacy entrepreneurs Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq and Tahir Saeed have been sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to 48 counts, including “conspiracy to import Schedule II,…
[...]Florida Oncologist Convicted for Buying Misbranded Cancer Drugs from Supplier of Fake Avastin
Dr. Diana Anda Norbergs was convicted by a Federal Grand Jury on 45 counts related to her multi-year practice of treating her oncology patients with imported, non-FDA approved cancer medications, and then billing Medicare, public, and private insurers for the full cost of the genuine treatments. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reporting that…
[...]Pakistani “Brad Pitt” Indicted in 2012 on Counterfeit Drug Charges Finally Sentenced
Indicted in absentia in 2012, Junaid Qadir, part owner of a clandestine medication importer based in Pakistan has finally been forced to face U.S. justice. Junaid Qadir, a principal in a family-owned pharmaceutical business in Karachi, Pakistan, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for his role in the illegal importation and sale of…
[...]Tehachapi Gynecologist Spent 6 Months in Jail For Implanting Women with Non-FDA Approved IUDs
Dr. Paul S. Singh is currently serving one year of home detention after pleading guilty to charges that he deceived his patients and defrauded Medicare by implanting his patients with non-FDA approved IUDs purchased on the Internet. Earlier this year, a Southern California gynecologist, Dr. Paul S. Singh was sentenced to 6 months in prison,…
[...]Neurology Associates of Greenville Sentenced in Misbranded Botox Case
South Carolina medical practice prosecuted for buying non-FDA approved injectable cosmetic treatments. A medical practice in Greenville, South Carolina has been sentenced to 3 years of federal probation for treating patients with non-FDA approved Botox, a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release reported on the occasion of the sentencing. According to the DOJ, “Records obtained…
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