Florida man was sentenced Thursday to four years and three months in prison for his role in a nationwide scheme to illegally distribute at least $16.7 million of adulterated HIV drugs.
The drugs were ultimately dispensed to unsuspecting patients throughout the country.
According to court documents, Armando Herrera, 43, of Miami, and his co-conspirators established companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California, which they used to sell and distribute adulterated prescription drugs, primarily HIV medications, to wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers.
Herrera and his co-conspirators created false documentation to make it appear as though the drugs were acquired legitimately when, in fact, they were not.
The pharmaceutical suppliers then sold the drugs to pharmacies, which dispensed the adulterated prescription drugs to unwitting patients.
As part of the investigation, federal agents seized more than $1.5 million worth of adulterated prescription drugs from Herrera, including more than 16,000 tablets of adulterated and misbranded HIV medication.
Herrera pleaded guilty on Sept. 25 to one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón for the Southern District of Florida handled asset forfeiture.