A New Hampshire woman and four California men have been indicted for allegedly operating a scheme in which large quantities of a prescription HIV drug were illegally purchased from illegitimate sources at prices significantly below the price the manufacturer charges pharmacies, and then illegally distributed to wholesale distributors using false paperwork. The Boston Globe reports that the 44-count indictment was unsealed Friday and announced Wednesday by the New Hampshire US attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case, and the Internal Revenue Service and Food and Drug Administration, which investigated it.
According to the Globe, the indictment alleges that Beth Handy of Milford, N.H., Robert Hatch of LaQuinta, Calif., and Boaz BenMoshe, Ofer Lupovitz, and Robert McFadden, each of Palm Springs, Calif., engaged in wire fraud and money laundering in a conspiracy that generated nearly $963,000 in illegal proceeds.
The alleged scheme involved Serostim, an injectable HIV drug manufactured by Serono SA, a Swiss biotech firm with its United States headquarters in Rockland, N.H., reports the Globe.
According to the indictment released on the US attorneyís Website, Handy arranged for the sale of the drug using falsified paperwork, and the drug was then shipped from California to wholesale prescription drug distributors in California and Tennessee, who believed they were buying from licensed wholesalers.
The Nashua Telegraph reports that the charges against the group include violations of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money instruments, conspiracy to engage in unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs and material false statements.
The maximum penalties are between five and 30 years of imprisonment.
