Press Releases
FINAL FOUR PLEAD GUILTY IN NATION-WIDE INTERNET PHARMACY CASE
Pleas Conclude 5-Year Investigation, Result in Forfeiture of Millions of Dollars
August 25, 2008
Contact: Stephanie Rose
United States Attorney Matt M. Dummermuth announced today that four men who illegally distributed over 12 million narcotic pain pills have pled guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
ORLANDO BIRBRAGHER, 51, of Miami, Florida; MARSHALL NEIL KANNER, 53, of Miami Beach, Florida; PETER LOPEZ, 54, formerly of Puerto Rico, and DOUGLAS WILLIS BOUCHEY, 53, formerly of Dubuque, Iowa, were convicted of charges related to an Internet pharmacy operating the website BuyMeds.com.
KANNER entered his plea today; BOUCHEY on August 11, 2008; BIRBRAGHER on August 4, 2008; and LOPEZ on July 11, 2008.
Federal statutes and regulations provide that certain drugs may be dispensed in the United States only by means of a lawfully issued prescription. These drugs are typically addictive, or dangerous if used without medical supervision. A doctor may not authorize a prescription for these drugs unless there is a legitimate medical need for the drug, and then only if the doctor has a real medical relationship with the patient. Likewise, a pharmacist may not dispense these drugs based on a prescription if that pharmacist knows, or should have known, the prescription was not lawfully issued. Internet pharmacies operate illegally if they allow Internet customers to receive drugs without proving a medical need for the drugs, and without establishing any real doctor/patient relationship with the authorizing physician.
KANNER, BIRBRAGHER, and LOPEZ each admitted during their plea hearings they conspired to illegally distribute controlled substances such as Vicodin, Xanax, and Valium based on drug orders placed by BuyMeds.com customers. After an Internet customer placed an order through BuyMeds.com, a “prescription” for the order was submitted by a doctor employed by Pharmacom International Corporation, without the doctor verifying the identity of the customer, the medical need for the drug, or establishing any medical relationship with the customer. Pharmacom, a Miami, Florida, company owned by BIRBRAGHER, KANNER, and a third partner, Alexis Avello, maintained the BuyMeds.com website. LOPEZ admitted during his plea hearing he was one of the medical doctors employed by Pharmacom to approve the Internet drug orders placed through BuyMeds.com. BIRBRAGHER, KANNER, and LOPEZ also pled guilty to laundering money from the illegal Internet operation. Over 12 million narcotic pain pills were distributed as a result of orders placed through BuyMeds.com during the website’s 14-month operation in 2003 and 2004.
During his plea hearing, BOUCHEY admitted he was a pharmacist employed by a Dubuque, Iowa, pharmacy that contracted with Pharmacom to fill Internet drug orders placed through BuyMeds.com. BOUCHEY pled guilty to conspiring to introduce misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce. Prescription drugs distributed without a valid prescription are misbranded under federal law. BOUCHEY admitted the Dubuque pharmacy shipped the misbranded drugs to BuyMeds.com customers throughout the United States.
All of the men agreed to forfeit the proceeds they received from the illegal pharmacy operation: BIRBRAGHER, $3.78 million; KANNER, $3.76 million; LOPEZ, $242,171; and BOUCHEY, $29,209. The Drug Enforcement Administration has already seized more than $4.4 million in connection with the case, money that will be shared with the federal, state, and local agencies that assisted in the five-year investigation of Pharmacom and the Dubuque pharmacy.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after presentence reports are prepared. KANNER and BOUCHEY remain free on bond previously set. BIRBRAGHER and LOPEZ remain in custody of the United States Marshal.
BIRBRAGHER and KANNER each face a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, more than $80 million in fines, $200 in special assessments, and at least 2 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. LOPEZ faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, $200 in special assessments, and at least 2 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. BOUCHEY faces a possible maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, a $25 special assessment, and up to 1 year of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The four pleas concluded a series of prosecutions connected to the investigation. Other related prosecutions include:
Alexis Avello, from Coral Gables, Florida, pled guilty on June 6, 2008, to making and subscribing a false income tax return. At his plea hearing, Avello admitted he falsely filed a federal income tax return in 2005 in which he claimed his taxable income for 2004 was $5,929. Avello admitted his taxable income in 2004 was really $1,659,423. Avello agreed as part of a plea agreement to pay the IRS $558,566 – the tax loss that resulted from his false return. Avello may litigate the civil forfeiture of more than $3.8 million he received as a corporate officer for Pharmacom. A sentencing hearing for Avello has not yet been set.
Dr. Roselyn Joann Rice, from Hampton Bays, New York, received a 26-month prison term May 16, 2008, after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally distribute drugs over the Internet and to laundering money from the drug conspiracy. Rice also agreed to forfeit more than $137,000 in drug proceeds.
Dr. Thomas Hanny, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, received a 33-month prison term December 20, 2006, after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally distribute drugs over the Internet and to laundering proceeds of his illegal distributions. Hanny was ordered to forfeit more than $57,000 in drug proceeds.
Dr. Mario Alberto Diaz, of Delray, Florida, pled guilty on March 23, 2006, to conspiring to illegally distribute drugs over the Internet and to laundering money. Diaz was sentenced on November 29, 2006, to 30 months’ imprisonment. Diaz was also ordered to forfeit $272,061 in drug proceeds.
Dr. Absylom Nyamekye and Dr. Apryl McNeil, of New York, New York, and Dr. Carlos Barrera, of Miami, Florida, were sentenced on April 17, 2006, after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. Nyamekye and McNeil each received a 20-month term of imprisonment. Barrera received two years’ probation, with a six-month term of home confinement. Each also forfeited their drug proceeds. Nyamekye forfeited $36,286; McNeil, $26,960; and Barrera, $10,897.
Dr. Magaly Bethencourt, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced on April 4, 2006, to two years’ probation with a six-month term of home confinement. Bethencourt also forfeited $7,710 in drug proceeds.
Rice, Hanny, Diaz, Nyamekye, McNeil, Barrera, and Bethencourt were each medical doctors employed by Pharmacom to write “prescriptions” for drug orders placed through BuyMeds.com customers.
A tenth doctor, ARMANDO ANGULO, was charged in November 2007 with conspiring with KANNER, BIRBRAGHER, LOPEZ, BOUCHEY, and others to distribute prescription drugs illegally. ANGULO’s whereabouts are unknown. As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephanie M. Rose and Matthew J. Cole, and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control, Dubuque Drug Task Force, and Internal Revenue Service.
