BIG PHARMA BIG CRIMES –
Oct. 3, 2024 – The DOJ unsealed charges against five pharmaceutical distributor executives, sales representatives, and brokers. Three Houston-based pharmacy operators were also charged in the Southern District of Texas for their role in the sale and distribution of the drugs. The drugs highlighted and allegedly sold include oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone. Black marketeers admitted to selling alprazolam, carisoprodol, and promethazine with codeine syrup to increase the high gained from the use of the illegally obtained and distributed drugs, according to documents put forward by the DOJ.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, was featured in a YouTube video that spearheaded the public announcement. She said, “The drugs had a staggering black-market value of over $1.3 billion.
hese charges represent the Justice Department’s 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.”
