Online pill pushers busted... illegal pharmacies grossed $126 million in 2 years

[Pornwolf]

Of course no one here is involved with stuff like this *cough cough* but I thought this would interest some of you.

Three U.S. physicians and two pharmacists were named Thursday in a 313-count federal indictment for the illegal online sale of prescription drugs. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the operation handled more than 1 million online orders and grossed approximately $126 million over a two-year period.

In addition to the doctors and the pharmacists, the indictment names 11 others, including a pharmacy operator, two recruiters, a credit card processor and eight affiliate Web site operators who participated in the Affpower distribution network.

Affpower located its administrative headquarters in Costa Rica and its computer servers in Cyprus. Affpower further relied on foreign-based agencies, including RX Payments Ltd. of Tel-Aviv, Israel, to process credit-card transactions, and used various bank accounts and an accounting firm in Nicosia, Cyprus, to distribute proceeds of the enterprise.

The defendants were charged with various racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering counts. The charges also include the distribution and dispensing of controlled substances, mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to dispense misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum 20 years in prison for RICO and RICO conspiracy; 20 years for mail and wire fraud; 20 years for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; five years for conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances; 20 years for money laundering; five years for conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and three years for violating the FDCA. The defendants also face millions of dollars in fines.

"The fraudulent and illegal sale of prescription drugs over the Internet poses a serious threat to the health of Americans who turn to the Internet in their need for pharmaceuticals," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said in a statement. "The defendants allegedly exploited that need and provided little or no doctor review while prescribing possibly dangerous drugs, even as they generated millions of dollars in revenues for themselves."

According to the indictment, the Affpower sold controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs through numerous affiliated Web sites to customers who lacked prescriptions for the drugs from a personal physician.

The DoJ alleges that Affpower doctors conducted no physical or mental examinations before issuing prescriptions, had no contact with customers and had no physician-patient relationship with any customer for whom the doctors prescribed drugs. Affpower doctors usually reviewed hundreds of customer orders per day and were typically paid $3 per review.

In some cases, the DoJ claims, Affpower doctors issued prescriptions for drugs even when a customer's answers to a health questionnaire suggested that the ordered drug could pose a danger to the customer. In other cases, the customer did not have a medical condition for which the ordered medication was an appropriate treatment.

In yet other cases, a licensed physician never reviewed orders for prescription pharmaceuticals. Instead, a non-physician member of the Affpower enterprise who had allegedly stolen the identity of a licensed physician issued prescriptions using the physician's name and registration.

"This case is another example of how some people will prey on an unsuspecting public by illegally and unscrupulously selling medications on the Internet without regard to the health or safety of the public," said Director Terry Vermillion of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations.

"By pretending to have an honest medical review of their prescriptions, the public was duped into believing that the defendants had their best interests at heart when in reality their motivation was money."

[jonesonyou]

are you surprised.

[Babaganoosh]

haha http://budgetmedicines.com/default.php

IMPORTANT NOTICE : This store is no longer accepting new orders.
Existing customers may logon to checkup on shipment of existing orders. All existing orders will be shipped.

[xNetworx]

How much time will they actually serve in jail?

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by Pornwolf

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum 20 years in prison for RICO and RICO conspiracy; 20 years for mail and wire fraud; 20 years for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; five years for conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances; 20 years for money laundering; five years for conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and three years for violating the FDCA. The defendants also face millions of dollars in fines.

So they could go to jail for 73 fucking years for this?

That's so fucked up, rapists and murderers walk after 10-15 years for crying out loud.

[Pornwolf]

Money laundering, wire fraud and the FDCA charges are going to hurt the most.

[BusterBunny]

Originally Posted by Lenny2

So they could go to jail for 73 fucking years for this?

That's so fucked up, rapists and murderers walk after 10-15 years for crying out loud.

word

[Libertine]

Meanwhile, they probably saved American citizens millions in medical bills.

Gotta love government-controlled industries...

[GreyWolf]

Originally Posted by Pornwolf

Of course no one here is involved with stuff like this *cough cough* but I thought this would interest some of you.

*cough cough*

Think I know who this is - if it's the same people, they are 10 mins away - tho can't see the principals being in the US to enable arrests and give this weight/consequences.

[Pornwolf]

Originally Posted by Libertine

Meanwhile, they probably saved American citizens millions in medical bills.

Gotta love government-controlled industries...

That is true.

I bet there's more people getting their Oxycontin, Xanex and Viagra from that operation though.

[Brother Bilo]

Ya, lame ass online pharmacies don't have the good stuff anyways.

[ztik]

Geez.. RX Payments has their shit together. So many people busted through them and they are still going

[greenlab]

Just wondering if anything can happen to them...if they are not based in the US, i doubt that they can touch them...

[cashbot]

Are they getting extradited?

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by Lenny2

So they could go to jail for 73 fucking years for this?

That's so fucked up, rapists and murderers walk after 10-15 years for crying out loud.

Even more sick...if they were selling crack on a street corner to elementary school kids they'd get 1/10th of that much jail time.

All these guys did is sell what, maybe vicodin at the worst over the internet?


It's kind of like the Extreme Associates case, if he gets found guilty he'll spend more time in jail than he would if he actually had raped the women in the videos (instead of just pretending to rape them)

Federal sentencing guidelines are stupid.

[EdgeXXX]

Originally Posted by Lenny2

So they could go to jail for 73 fucking years for this?

Actually, adding up all the counts, each person faces up to 93 years... and that's in FEDERAL prison

[maddox]

notice the very important part of this article saying

"eight affiliate Web site operators"

OMG

and what about rx-payments? WHat do you mean by people are busted through them?

[Pornwolf]

It sounds like RX-Payments is rolling over on a select number of customers to stay operational. I can't be sure if that's their deal but that's definitely how the government works with informants.

[robfantasy]

Prescrips are worse than street drugs

[BoyAlley]

Originally Posted by maddox

notice the very important part of this article saying

"eight affiliate Web site operators"

OMG

Yup. Just goes to show affiliates need to be careful about what they're promoting.

[GreyWolf]

Yep - just checked - it is the same person I know. He's a doc and been doing net trading for a fair number of years and currently "not available for comment"

cashbot:
Are they getting extradited?

Unlikely for several reasons since the offenses must be offenses in both countries involved - but that is not a 100% certainty and may be the reason for the alleged "money laundering" charges which would be extraditable offenses - tho this has to be proven to a judge.

[Jace]

Originally Posted by Lenny2

So they could go to jail for 73 fucking years for this?

That's so fucked up, rapists and murderers walk after 10-15 years for crying out loud.

even more fucked up is that I have a friend that got caught with 100 ecstasy pills that is still serving his 15 year sentence

and

one of my good friends brother in law raped his 8 year old daughter and got 6 months probation

so, now, where is all those fine people that say the USA is a "fair and balanced" place to live

[crockett]

Are there any other sites still open like this?

[GreyWolf]

Originally Posted by Jace

even more fucked up is that I have a friend that got caught with 100 ecstasy pills that is still serving his 15 year sentence

Amazing and hardly "justice seeing to be done"

Noticed they invoked RICO and money-laundering for this incident and getting the heavy hammer out to smash a peanut. No person but those motivating Affpower would know - but seriously doubt they are involved in any "money laundering" as it is commonly recognized (there was no need) and RICO means little outside the US.

The term "money laundering" for US prosecutors seems to be very liberal and a device used to "capture all" and be justification in this instance to possibly aid with formulating a cause for extradition proceedings. If this is the case, chances are a judge will not accept an extradition application unless this is well-proven and of substance. But.. who knows? Anything is possible...

[crockett]

Originally Posted by GreyWolf

Amazing and hardly "justice seeing to be done"

Noticed they invoked RICO and money-laundering for this incident and getting the heavy hammer out to smash a peanut. No person but those motivating Affpower would know - but seriously doubt they are involved in any "money laundering" as it is commonly recognized (there was no need) and RICO means little outside the US.

The term "money laundering" for US prosecutors seems to be very liberal and a device used to "capture all" and be justification in this instance to possibly aid with formulating a cause for extradition proceedings. If this is the case, chances are a judge will not accept an extradition application unless this is well-proven and of substance. But.. who knows? Anything is possible...

They always add in catchy charges in these kinds of busts.. Like money laundering or racketeering and fraud. Makes it easy for the typical person to think they were up to no good and running a scam.

[Pleasurepays]

i love how everyone is acting that selling counterfeit drugs online is totally fine and acceptable.

[Jace]

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

i love how everyone is acting that selling counterfeit drugs online is totally fine and acceptable.

i think what people are speaking out more about is that harsh crimes that hurt people and ruin children are met with a slap on the wrist, while pushing some pills gets you life in prison

yes, selling fake pills online is horrible and deserves whatever they get, but child molesters and baby rapists should be serving more time then these guys

[GreyWolf]

Originally Posted by crockett

They always add in catchy charges in these kinds of busts.. Like money laundering or racketeering and fraud. Makes it easy for the typical person to think they were up to no good and running a scam.

Yep - can see that crockett - and reading the report of allegations, this is the DOJ's version and those of prosecutors - not necessarily the facts

I know the guy who owns this operation and he is not a smart ass who would get involved in scams - he's actually an OK person and would guess, but honorable. Tho that does not mean he may not be violating US FDA rulings/laws - marketing pharma products on the net prob involves a fair number of laws in both the US and other countries and it's probable AffPower may be violating laws in a few countries.

But.. seriously doubt the "money laundering" element - tho anything is possible. He has no need to get involved in "real" money-laundering since the revenues are legal in CR and nothing to hide. This guy has been living in CR for around 30 years and no reason to think he is anything other than an "upstanding member of the community" and has many friends from the highest in the land downwards. His family run several businesses other than pharma products - tho he seems to concentrate on the pharma side as a doc.

Really depends on the evidence the DOJ can present to a judge in Costa Rica to convince that judge there is *actual* money-laundering. Judges here are *very* fussy and pedantic and they sure won't be listening to a exploratory chat as to how money-laundering perspectives can be widened to suit the occasion. The other offenses don't appear to fall into the extraditable range.

[Pleasurepays]

Originally Posted by Jace

i think what people are speaking out more about is that harsh crimes that hurt people and ruin children are met with a slap on the wrist, while pushing some pills gets you life in prison

yes, selling fake pills online is horrible and deserves whatever they get, but child molesters and baby rapists should be serving more time then these guys

why should a guy who raped a girl be serving more time than guys who are selling drugs illegally?

a raped girl is a raped girl. what are the consequences of creating 1000s of addicts and endangering the lives of 10's or 100's of thousands of people?

[GreyWolf]

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

why should a guy who raped a girl be serving more time than guys who are selling drugs illegally?

a raped girl is a raped girl. what are the consequences of creating 1000s of addicts and endangering the lives of 10's or 100's of thousands of people?

Rape is a serious offense and an involving physical assault and warrants a custodial sentence for a period of time.

This "incident" does not involved selling cocaine as the DOJ would like to think in their statements. It involves the purchase of pharma products which should normally be prescribed by a physician - and would agree, this can carry varying degrees of risk unless these prescriptions are monitored together with patient history.

The flipside is that drugs, particularly in the US, are a total ripoff and can see an advantage where folks cannot or are not willing to pay the amounts charged within the US. It's exactly for that reason a number of people buy medications in Canada.

There is also another level - that of US pharma corps. If this case was solely about the welfare of the purchasers, it may have more weight - but doubt that is the case and suspect there is an element of pharma corps protecting their "legal drug dealing" and the profits arising from that. The internet has introduced an angle where the traditional lobbyists cannot reach and enables others to take a cut of the pie.

That said, and only my - but if I was a doc, I'd not feel right about issuing prescriptions to people I don't know. But hell - I doubt the average doc in the US actually "knows" their patients either - they were trained by the drugs companies to perform - so.....

[vvq]

lets be realistic here. a lot of people that buy drugs online aren't doing it because the prices are cheaper. sure some people have legitimate reasons, but come on now. filling out a survey to get your xanax bars or vicodins isn't anything like going to see a doctor. it's drug dealing. don't for a second think it's just granny buying her heart medication or a guy with a limp dick wanting some viagra. pills get to the streets from online vendors like this. not that i care, but quit acting like this guy is innocent. i'm sure he ran a straight shop, but that doesn't mean he's not supplying dealers or recreational users.

[Jace]

Originally Posted by vvq

lets be realistic here. a lot of people that buy drugs online aren't doing it because the prices are cheaper. sure some people have legitimate reasons, but come on now. filling out a survey to get your xanax bars or vicodins isn't anything like going to see a doctor. it's drug dealing. don't for a second think it's just granny buying her heart medication or a guy with a limp dick wanting some viagra. pills get to the streets from online vendors like this. not that i care, but quit acting like this guy is innocent. i'm sure he ran a straight shop, but that doesn't mean he's not supplying dealers or recreational users.

you would be hard pressed to find ANY online company that sells hydrocodone/vicodin without a doc coming to your house for a checkup or faxing some sort of verifiable med records

trust me, we have tried them all

[VeriSexy]

Originally Posted by Pornwolf

Money laundering, wire fraud and the FDCA charges are going to hurt the most.

yea.. more then just selling pills

[GreyWolf]

Originally Posted by vvq

lets be realistic here. a lot of people that buy drugs online aren't doing it because the prices are cheaper. sure some people have legitimate reasons, but come on now. filling out a survey to get your xanax bars or vicodins isn't anything like going to see a doctor. it's drug dealing. don't for a second think it's just granny buying her heart medication or a guy with a limp dick wanting some viagra. pills get to the streets from online vendors like this. not that i care, but quit acting like this guy is innocent. i'm sure he ran a straight shop, but that doesn't mean he's not supplying dealers or recreational users.

You got a point. Never considered the abuse of drugs - chances of me taking that shit even if it was prescribed, is remote, tho obviously others will play with them for whatever reason.

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by crockett

They always add in catchy charges in these kinds of busts.. Like money laundering or racketeering and fraud. Makes it easy for the typical person to think they were up to no good and running a scam.

True.
I've never seen a federal indictment that didn't include mail fraud.

They like to pile up the charges and possible years in prison to give themselves leverage when negotiating a plea deal.

[jalami]

They processed over a million orders of phentermine, didrex, tenuate and other controlled substances, shipping them from U.S. pharmacies, and sending wire transfers back and forth from the U.S. in the 6-figure range on a weekly basis. What did they expect would happen? There's not as much money in acne creams and supplements but they sure keep a guy out of trouble.

[Barefootsies]