LOS ANGELES
Federal officials accused two brothers of allegedly using an bogus pharmacy to distribute large quantities of prescription drugs, including OxyContin, to black-market customers.
The two Brentwood men are charged in a 40-count indictment unsealed today alleging drug trafficking and money laundering. The indictment also alleges the operators of Global Compounding Pharmacy in West Los Angeles illegally imported large quantities of anabolic steroids.
The two men arrested this morning are Berry Kabov, 44, and his brother, Dalibor Kabov, aka “Dabo,” 32.
Berry and Dalibor Kabov are expected to be arraigned on the indictment today in federal court.
If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Berry Kabov and Dalibor Kabov each would face up to 430 years in federal prison, officials said.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The search warrant identifies more than $1.5 million in structured cash deposits into multi
ple bank accounts controlled by the Kabov brothers.
The affidavit details extravagant expenditures, including private jets from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas and other luxury items.
A search warrant also unsealed today details how the Kabov brothers used Los Angeles as a base to sell bulk shipments of prescription drugs – including oxycodone, which is commonly sold under the brand name OxyContin – to black market customers across the country.
Officials said investigators seized parcels containing thousands of hidden oxycodone pills that the Kabov brothers attempted to ship to customers in and around Columbus, Ohio, according to the search warrant affidavit.
It states that the customers in turn made cash deposits into Kabov-controlled bank accounts or simply shipped bulk cash to the brothers in Southern California.
During recorded calls with an informant that are described in the affidavit, Berry Kabov coordinated the shipments and explained that he could sell oxycodone in New York for as much as $50 per pill.
The court documents unsealed today allege that the Kabov brothers operated Global Compounding as a bogus pharmacy to facilitate the acquisition of prescription drugs from the wholesale market.
DEA administrative records show that, between June 2012 and January 2014, the Kabov brothers purchased massive quantities of drugs, including nearly 100,000 in oxycodone pills, as well as tens of thousands of pills of hydrocodone (commonly sold under the brand name Vicodin) and hydromorphone (commonly sold under the brand name Dilaudid) .
DEA administrative records show that Global Compounding was the top purchaser of oxycodone among all pharmacies in the Los Angeles area in 2014.
It ordered three times more oxycodone than the second-largest purchaser. Surveillance of Global Compounding has shown that few, if any, people who appear to be customers ever go the pharmacy.
The affidavit also described an inspection at Global Compounding by the California Board of Pharmacy in January 2014. It led investigators to conclude “that Global Compounding is not a legitimate pharmacy and in fact is a façade for a drug trafficking operation.”
State investigators noted a lack of over-the-counter drug products ordinarily carried by legitimate pharmacies and records indicating that many of the prescriptions purportedly being filled by the pharmacy were for patients outside of the Los Angeles area, according to the affidavit.
The indictment also alleges that the brothers engaged in money laundering and the structuring of cash transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements.
In addition to the charges related to oxycodone, the indictment alleges that the brothers illegally imported anabolic steroids purchased from a wholesale drug distributor located in Hubei, China. The indictment details how the brothers used the pharmacy to illegally order bulk quantities of testosterone, oxandrolone and nandrolone.
Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Board of Pharmacy investigated this case, according to officials.