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NRI held for $125m ring selling drugs on Internet
Washington, Dec. 5: In one of the largest crackdown on inter net sales of prescription drugs, federal officials in Alexandria have arrested an Indian American whizkid who is said to have made millions through the online pharmacy business.
The 108-count indictment yesterday charged 10 people and three companies for using websites to lure customers and charged 10 people and three companies, including Florida businessman Vineet K Chhabra, 32, his sister Sabina Faruqui for illegally selling $125 million worth of addictive diet and sleeping pills via the Internet and toll-free numbers since 1998.
The Chhabras and their partners operated at least 16 websites with names such as get-it-on.com. cybrx.com. sprescribe.com and usaprescription.com, media reports said.
Nearly six million doses of the controlled substances were distributed through the websites, the indictment alleged. Chhabra is under investigation for the last three years. If convicted he faces a mandatory 20 years for the criminal enterprise and up to 20 years for money laundering. An uncle, Sunil Sethi, a Virginia pharmacist and physicians from Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia were also charged.
When customers ordered drugs online, court papers said, they would choose the type, the quantity and dosage. But no one checked the information, and they obtained the drugs without ever seeing a doctor in person — both which are required by federal law, Florida daily Sun Sentinel reported.
The indictment also charged that defendents distributed the drugs without performing mental or physical exams, getting patients histories or monitoring patient responses. Some of the controlled substances, were weight loss drugs.
