{"id":57689,"date":"2024-10-03T20:04:12","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T03:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=57689"},"modified":"2024-10-03T20:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T03:07:15","slug":"doj-charges-ten-pharmaceutical-distributors-affiliated-with-unlawful-sales-of-over-70m-opioid-pills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=57689","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Charges Ten Pharmaceutical Distributors Affiliated with Unlawful Sales of Over 70 Million Opioid Pills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DOJ Charges Ten Pharmaceutical Distributors Affiliated with Unlawful Sales of Over 70M Opioid Pills\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KWkw6dDQ5mk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Officials stated Thursday that charges against five pharmaceutical distributor executives and five pharmaceutical sales representatives and brokers have been unsealed in the Southern District of Texas, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Missouri, and Eastern District of North Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">This is part of a larger enforcement action related to the unlawful distribution of nearly 70 million opioid pills and over 30 million doses of other commonly abused prescription drugs to alleged Houston-area pill-mill pharmacies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-57695\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/PHARMACY_OPIOIDS_1728010750.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-57196\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/drugs_1723240253.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-52174 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PrescriptionDrugsFeb92023.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Three Houston-area pharmacy operators were also charged in the Southern District of Texas for their role in the schemes. Nine individuals have pleaded guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">According to court documents, the opioids allegedly distributed \u2014 oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone \u2014 were available in numerous strengths and forms, but the distributors allegedly sold the drugs almost exclusively in their most abused, most powerful immediate-release pill forms \u2014 i.e., the ones that sold for the most money on the black market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The distributors also allegedly sold prescription drug potentiators \u2014 alprazolam, carisoprodol, and promethazine with codeine syrup \u2014 known for their reputation of enhancing the high from the opioids.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6288 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Organized-Crime-Drug-Enforcement-Badge-217x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"217\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Organized-Crime-Drug-Enforcement-Badge-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Organized-Crime-Drug-Enforcement-Badge.jpg 340w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/>The distributors allegedly charged their Houston customers far more for the drugs than what a legitimate pharmacy could or would pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u201cThe defendants, including pharmaceutical drug distributors, allegedly exploited the opioid crisis for profit \u2014 selling dangerous and addictive drugs to pill-mill pharmacies at above-market prices, knowing that the drugs would end up on the black market,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division. \u201cThe drugs had a staggering black-market value of over $1.3 billion. These charges represent the Justice Department\u2019s largest criminal enforcement action targeting executives, brokers, and alleged pill-mill pharmacy owners for unlawfully distributing opioids and other commonly abused drugs. Our message is clear: we will not hesitate in our pursuit of those involved in dumping addictive pharmaceutical drugs onto the streets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14844 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"La Cosa Nostra Convicted Felon Admits to Drug, Prostitution and Weapons Charges\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo-45x35.jpg 45w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FBI-Logo.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>As alleged in the charging documents, the defendants mostly targeted pill-mill pharmacies in and around Houston \u2014 a nationally recognized \u201chot zone\u201d for diversion of pharmaceutical opioids onto the black market. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The distributors sought to thwart the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)&#8217;s oversight function in several ways, including by following what one defendant called a \u201cblueprint\u201d for avoiding detection: high prices, low purchasing limits for the controlled drugs, and compliance measures that only served appearances. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">In addition, the distributors were all located outside Texas, far removed from their Houston-area pill-mill pharmacy customers and the communities ravaged by their alleged offenses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6759 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-300x197.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice-90x60.jpg 90w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Department-of-Justice.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u201cThe defendants in the charges announced today are alleged to be responsible for significantly contributing to the devastation caused by the opioid crisis by knowingly supplying pill-mill pharmacies and coaching pharmacy operators on how to evade law enforcement detection. According to the charging documents, they knowingly sold bulk narcotics to drug traffickers and to pharmacies they knew were selling to drug traffickers,\u201d said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. \u201cAs alleged, these defendants \u2014 owners, CEOs, executives, brokers \u2014 put profits over the health and safety of the American public. No one is above the law. If you contribute to the opioid epidemic, if you profit from the devastation of communities, we will hold you accountable.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>ccording to court documents, the following individuals were charged as part of today\u2019s enforcement action:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Sheldon Dounn<\/strong>, 71, of Plantation, Florida, was charged for allegedly brokering the sale of millions of opioid pills and other commonly abused prescription drugs, mostly to Houston-area independent pharmacies that then sold the pills on to the black market. He was indicted in the Southern District of Texas with five counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances; two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute and dispense, controlled substances; and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with a scheme to unlawfully distribute and dispense nearly 10\u00a0million opioid pills to pharmacies in Houston and Florida.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Richard \u201cDick\u201d Osbourne<\/strong>, 78, of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute and dispense, controlled substances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> <strong>Courtney Rotenberry<\/strong>, 45, of Savannah, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of conspiracy to use a communications facility to further the commission of a drug felony, in connection with the same scheme. According to court documents, Osbourne was the president of Wholesale Rx, while Rotenberry served as sales manager and, for a brief period, managed day-to-day operations at the company, including purported compliance. She also handled some of the company\u2019s pharmacy accounts. As alleged, Dounn brought Wholesale Rx what he called the \u201cmodel\u201d \u2014 a \u201cblueprint\u201d for staying \u201cunder the radar\u201d of regulators and law enforcement through over-market prices, low purchasing limits, and perfunctory compliance in hopes of making a \u201clot of money\u201d \u2014 which was based on Dounn\u2019s experience as a pharmaceutical sales broker. Dounn allegedly brokered sales of commonly abused prescription drugs from Wholesale Rx to his pharmacy customers in Houston. Dounn also allegedly sold the same pills from at least two other wholesalers to his Houston-area customers and some Florida customers, often in addition to the drugs the pharmacies purchased from Wholesale Rx. Rotenberry also falsely represented to the DEA that Wholesale Rx preformed meaningful due diligence on its Houston-area pharmacy customers when Wholesale Rx did not. If convicted, Dounn faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each unlawful distribution-related count and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States. Osbourne faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Rotenberry faces a maximum penalty of five years on the conspiracy to defraud the United States count and four years on the conspiracy to use a communications facility to further the commission of a drug felony count.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Hernan Alvarez<\/strong>, 52, of\u00a0Phoenix, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances in connection with a scheme to distribute over 18.6 million commonly abused opioid units. As alleged, Alvarez, the president of DEA-registered pharmaceutical distributor Salus Medical LLC (Salus), along with his co-conspirators, aimed to generate profits by selling commonly abused opioids and other drugs into the Houston market. Despite a meeting with DEA officials in 2017, during which Alvarez and his sales manager were informed of distributors\u2019 obligations to provide effective controls against diversion and were trained on red flags for Salus to look out for, Alvarez targeted certain Houston-area pharmacies because those pharmacies were willing to pay over-market prices for commonly abused prescription drugs. Alvarez knew that these Houston-area pharmacies were able to pay inflated prices for the drugs because the pharmacies unlawfully sold them, for cash, mainly to street-level drug dealers. Alvarez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Joshua Weinstein<\/strong>, 50, of Miami, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute and dispense, controlled substances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"> <strong>Derrick \u201cChad\u201d Atkinson<\/strong>, 40, of Lumberton, North Carolina,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>was charged by information in the Eastern District of North Carolina with the same, in connection with a scheme to distribute over 7 million hydrocodone, oxycodone, and hydromorphone pills. As alleged, Weinstein was the president of a pharmaceutical drug wholesaler headquartered in Miami, and Atkinson was a sales representative who serviced many of the company\u2019s Houston-area pharmacy accounts. Weinstein, Atkinson, and their co-conspirators allegedly sold commonly abused prescription drugs at a large markup into the Houston market, while implementing purported compliance measures that mostly facilitated, instead of prevented, diversion. According to court documents, in or around 2017, after Atkinson was hired, the company\u2019s sales of commonly abused prescription drugs to Houston-area pharmacies dramatically increased. In addition to serving as president of the Miami wholesaler, Weinstein served as a sales representative for an alleged Houston-area pill-mill pharmacy, for which Weinstein secured an increase in the pharmacy\u2019s purchasing limits for commonly abused prescription drugs and picked non-controlled substances the pharmacy needed to purchase to meet the wholesaler\u2019s required controlled-to-non-controlled substance purchasing ratio. Weinstein faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, Atkinson faces the same.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Jason Smith<\/strong>, 43, of Plantation, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute and dispense, controlled substances.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><b>The Southern District of Florida filed an information charging Joseph Pesserillo, 38, of The Villages, Florida, and Cassandra Rivera, 40, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with one count of conspiracy to use a communications facility to further the commission of a drug felony.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">All three defendants were charged in connection with a scheme to facilitate the distribution of tens of millions of commonly abused prescription drugs from Salus and three other pharmaceutical drug wholesalers. According to court documents, Smith owned and operated Proven Rx Sales LLC (Proven), a purported pharmaceutical consulting company that helped mid-level distributors sell commonly abused prescription drugs to Houston-area pill-mill pharmacies. Smith dealt primarily with the owners and upper management for Proven\u2019s distributors, while Proven sales representatives Pesserillo and Rivera allegedly serviced the accounts of pill-mill pharmacies in the Houston area. Smith faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, Pesserillo and Rivera each face a maximum penalty of four years in prison.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Eric Bailey<\/strong>, 59, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Missouri to one count of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone and oxycodone, in connection with a scheme to distribute over 11 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills. According to court documents, Bailey, the owner and operator of Emed Medical Company LLC (Emed), a pharmaceutical drug distributor, controlled Emed\u2019s purchase and sale of controlled substances \u2014 including purchasing the commonly abused prescription drugs sold to Houston-area pharmacies \u2014 setting prices, approving new customers, and setting purported compliance protocols. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">In December 2021, Bailey was notified by a drug manufacturer that unless Emed implemented improved due diligence programs, the manufacturer would no longer sell Emed controlled substances. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Bailey received compliance recommendations but did not implement them. Instead he purchased from a new drug manufacturer thousands of oxycodone and hydrocodone pills with the intent to distribute them to Emed\u2019s Houston-area pharmacy customers that he knew would unlawfully distribute them. Bailey faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Velencia Griffin<\/strong>, 42,\u00a0<strong>Kendal Lyons<\/strong>, 29, and\u00a0<strong>Andre Reid<\/strong>, 44, of Houston, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances. Griffin, Lyons, and Reid operated Houston-area pharmacies that purchased commonly abused controlled pharmaceutical drugs ordered through Sheldon Dounn. Griffin, Lyons, and Reid each face a maximum penalty of 20\u00a0years in prison.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u00a0All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1372471\/dl\" data-once=\"doj-analytics\">Atkinson indictment<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1372476\/dl\" data-once=\"doj-analytics\">Bailey indictment<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1372481\/dl\" data-once=\"doj-analytics\">Smith indictment<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1372486\/dl\" data-once=\"doj-analytics\">Weinstein indictment<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Officials stated Thursday that charges against five pharmaceutical distributor executives and five pharmaceutical sales representatives and brokers have been unsealed in the Southern District of Texas, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DOJ Charges Ten Pharmaceutical Distributors Affiliated with Unlawful Sales of Over 70 Million Opioid Pills<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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