A federal jury in Texas convicted a Texas pharmacist Friday for conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense opioids and maintaining a drug-involved premise, officials stated.
According to evidence presented at trial, from May 2018 to August 2019, Sokari “Momma” Bobmanuel, 63, of Houston, was the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Cornerstone Rx Pharmacy.
The Pharmacy illegally distributed nearly 160,000 opioid pills, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.
Bobmanuel, through Cornerstone, distributed controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice, and without a legitimate medical purpose, to individuals who bought prescriptions in the names of other people.
These individuals then sold the pills they bought from Cornerstone on the black market.
Bobmanuel charged exorbitant prices for her pills – often over $1,000 for a single oxycodone prescription – generating over $1 million from the scheme.
The jury convicted Bobmanuel on one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances unlawfully and one count of maintaining drug-involved premises.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. To date, 11 other defendants, including a physician and two nurse practitioners, have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy.
The DEA Houston Division and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Emily Petro, Monica Cooper, Ariel Glasner, and Courtney Chester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bauman for the Southern District of Texas is handling forfeiture.