Canadian Firm, 3 Execs Accused in $4M Foreign Drug Scheme

PITTSBURGH – In a stunning turn of events, three Canadians and their company, Quantum Solutions, SRL, have been hit with charges for conspiring to distribute wholesale quantities of misbranded prescription drugs worth an estimated $4 million. Tony Lee, Billy Lee, and Tarn Uppal, all from Vancouver, B.C., are accused of orchestrating a scheme that funneled foreign-made drugs into Western Pennsylvania pharmacists’ hands.

Quantum Solutions, registered in Barbados with operations in Canada, purchased prescription drugs intended for the foreign market and sold them to pharmacists in Pennsylvania. The drugs originated from Turkey, Great Britain, and other countries, none of which met FDA approval. The trio allegedly manipulated the drugs by sending them through a UK re-shipper, who repackaged them with misleading labels and underreported values to U.S. Customs.

The repackaged drugs were then sent to re-shippers in Washington State and New York, where they were again unpacked and prepared for delivery to the United States. None of these re-shippers held licenses to conduct such business in the U.S., according to authorities.

Wire transfers, checks, and credit card payments totaling $4 million were traced from Pennsylvania pharmacists to Canada and Barbados. Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is leading the government’s prosecution of this case.

The investigation was conducted by the FDA-Office of Criminal Investigations and the IRS-Criminal Investigations, and it culminated in the filing of criminal Informations against the defendants. As always, a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and the filing of an Information often indicates a planned guilty plea.