Following a two year investigation, ten individuals, including two doctors, were arrested Thursday October 13 after being tried for accused participation in a drug trafficking circle run out of an office on West 8th Street close to downtown Los Angeles. According to federal officials, the drug ring is being charged with the illegal distribution of over 1 million OxyContin pills.
As reported by FOX LA, the illicit ring was allegedly operated from a medical clinic where doctors gave Medicare prescriptions for the potent and dangerous painkiller for Medi-Cal, Medicare, and patients without insurance who demonstrated no medical necessity for the drug, said the U.S. Attorney's Office. The drug was acquired from pharmacies, in many counts by unlawfully sending bills to government insurance groups, while leaders of the ring are accused of re-selling the pills on the black market for millions of dollars in gain.
The L.A. federal court indictment indicates that over one million of the highest strength OxyContin doses were sold illegally on the street via the ring for between approximately $23 to $27 a pill. The charges also accuse that a portion of the drug was funneled through stolen Medicare identities at the cost of the government (Medicare fronted more than $2.7 million in prescriptions for the drug during the investigated period, according to officials).
The clinic is also accused of billing Medicare and Medi-Cal over $5 million for fraudulent services. According to FOX LA, the defendants face charges involving the distribution of controlled drugs, a plan to execute health care fraud, severe fraudulent health provider charges, and illicit wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. The legal punishment for the sale of illicit drugs is severe at any level.
Have you been arrested for illegal drug trafficking in Los Angeles or its surrounding areas? Contact Los Angeles drug crime defense attorney Daniel Kann at (310) 593-2435 for a complimentary consultation.
Source: http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/oxycontin-ring-arrests-20111013#ixzz1amoscel1
