TWO MEN SENTENCED IN DETROIT ON CHARGES OF
UNLICENSED WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION OF PRESCRIPTION
MEDICATIONS STOLEN FROM McKESSON AND PHARMACIA-UPJOHN
A West Bloomfield, Michigan resident and a dual resident of Highland Park, Illinois and Delray Beach, Florida were sentenced today and on Friday, April 20, 2007, respectively, on charges of unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription medications stemming from bulk sales of approximately $5,534,000 worth of prescription medications, many of which had been stolen from a distribution center operated by McKesson Corporation and from Pharmacia-Upjohn in the Chicago, Illinois area, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today.
(Media-Newswire.com) - A West Bloomfield, Michigan resident and a dual resident of Highland Park, Illinois and Delray Beach, Florida were sentenced today and on Friday, April 20, 2007, respectively, on charges of unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription medications stemming from bulk sales of approximately $5,534,000 worth of prescription medications, many of which had been stolen from a distribution center operated by McKesson Corporation and from Pharmacia-Upjohn in the Chicago, Illinois area, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today.
Murphy was joined in the announcement by Andrew Arena, F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge, and Michael Cleary, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago, Illinois office of Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation.
United States Attorney Murphy stated: “Once pharmaceuticals leave the stream of regulated commerce, which requires that prescription medication be handled by licensed wholesalers and retailers every step of the way and that each link of that chain be recorded for accountability, the public runs the risk of ultimately receiving medication that may have been mishandled, mislabeled or worse, threatening the effectiveness of the medication and, ultimately, the public safety. Both the F.D.A. and the F.B.I. should be commended for their excellent cooperative efforts leading to these convictions.”
Raymond Greenspan, age 70, of West Bloomfield, Michigan and Louis Orenstein, age 67, of Highland Park, Illinois, were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Marianne O. Battani in Detroit, Michigan. Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
Greenspan was sentenced today to serve 16 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by two years on supervised release, to pay restitution in the amount of $3,053,552, and to forfeit to the United States the sum of $225,000.
Orenstein was sentenced, on Friday, April 20, 2007, to serve 18 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by two years’ supervised release, to pay restitution in the amount of $3,734,853 ( $225,000 of which was paid prior to sentencing ), and to forfeit to the United States the sum of $1,525,000 ( also paid prior to sentencing ).
The information presented to the court at the time of the prior guilty pleas and sentencing showed that from November 20, 1998 through December 12, 200, in the Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Michigan, Orenstein, a licensed beautician and wholesale supplier of beauty products to retailers in the Chicago area, sold and distributed the various medications, including Prilosec, Lipitor, Celebrex, Depakote, Vioxx, Amoxil and others, to Raymond Greenspan, doing business in the Eastern District of Michigan, without having been licensed by either the state of Illinois or Michigan as required. Greenspan, in turn, sold the drugs to other wholesalers in the area. Many of these prescription medications had been stolen from a warehouse owned and operated by McKesson Corporation and from a shipment initated by the large a pharmaceutical manufacturer, Pharmacia-Upjohn.
These sentences are the second and third arising from this investigation. William “Ronnie” Deaton of Chicago previously pleaded guilty to the interstate transportation of stolen property and was sentenced to serve six months in prison, to pay restitution of $392,785, and to forfeit $100,000 to the government.
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http://www.usdoj.gov
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