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Associated Press
6:34 PM CDT, June 10, 2009
DES MOINES, Iowa
Law enforcement agencies in Iowa will share millions of dollars thanks to a national investigation into an illegal prescription drug operation, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The U.S. attorney's office said the probe led to the conviction of more than two dozen people -- including 19 doctors -- and the forfeiture of more than $7 million in assets.
Drug task forces in Dubuque, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids will share about $4 million of those funds. Money also will go to police departments in Miami and Coral Gables, Fla., and several federal agencies.
"This federal prosecution resulted in the most defendants ever convicted in an Internet pharmacy case in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth, noting that the forfeiture was the largest ever in his Northern District.
The investigation began in 2003, when federal and local law enforcement searched a Dubuque drug store. They found evidence that the store illegally dispensed more than a million prescription pain, diet and psychiatric pills over a six-month period for Pharmacon International Corporation and Medical Web Services.
Prosecutors said the two Florida-based Internet pharmacies recruited doctors from around the country to review orders placed by customers online. The prescriptions were filled without any medical exam or any contact between physicians and patients, prosecutors said.
Between 2002 and 2004, the companies together issued about 500,000 prescriptions for roughly 31 million pills, authorities said.
Along with the doctors, those convicted in Iowa included corporate officers, physician recruiters and a pharmacist. Twelve other doctors either entered into agreements to avoid prosecution or were prosecuted in other states, officials said.
6:34 PM CDT, June 10, 2009
DES MOINES, Iowa
Law enforcement agencies in Iowa will share millions of dollars thanks to a national investigation into an illegal prescription drug operation, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The U.S. attorney's office said the probe led to the conviction of more than two dozen people -- including 19 doctors -- and the forfeiture of more than $7 million in assets.
Drug task forces in Dubuque, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids will share about $4 million of those funds. Money also will go to police departments in Miami and Coral Gables, Fla., and several federal agencies.
"This federal prosecution resulted in the most defendants ever convicted in an Internet pharmacy case in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth, noting that the forfeiture was the largest ever in his Northern District.
The investigation began in 2003, when federal and local law enforcement searched a Dubuque drug store. They found evidence that the store illegally dispensed more than a million prescription pain, diet and psychiatric pills over a six-month period for Pharmacon International Corporation and Medical Web Services.
Prosecutors said the two Florida-based Internet pharmacies recruited doctors from around the country to review orders placed by customers online. The prescriptions were filled without any medical exam or any contact between physicians and patients, prosecutors said.
Between 2002 and 2004, the companies together issued about 500,000 prescriptions for roughly 31 million pills, authorities said.
Along with the doctors, those convicted in Iowa included corporate officers, physician recruiters and a pharmacist. Twelve other doctors either entered into agreements to avoid prosecution or were prosecuted in other states, officials said.
