Florida Doctor, Clinic Owner and Staff Charged with Falsifying Clinical Trial Data, Florida 2021

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Florida Doctor, Clinic Owner and Staff Charged with Falsifying Clinical Trial Data

A federal grand jury in Miami has charged a Florida medical doctor and three others for their roles in an alleged scheme to falsify clinical trial data. Dr. Martin Valdes, 64, of Coral Gables, Florida, Fidalgis Font, 53, of Miami, Julio Lopez, 54, of Miami, and Duniel Tejeda, 35, of Canon City, Colorado, were charged in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on February 23, 2021.

According to the indictment, from at least February 2014 through at least July 2016, the defendants fabricated clinical trial data for profit while working at Tellus Clinical Research, a medical clinic based in Miami. The indictment alleges that the defendants knowingly enrolled subjects in clinical trials when those subjects failed to meet eligibility criteria, falsified subject laboratory results, falsified subject medical records, and falsely represented that subjects were taking the drugs being studied when in fact they were not.

“Falsifying clinical data is a violation of the public’s trust and it endangers the safety of consumers,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Those who enrich themselves while compromising public health in this way commit serious crimes and will be prosecuted.”

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and making a false statement to inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud or mail fraud, with Valdes and Font facing a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment for money laundering, and Valdes facing a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment for making a false statement to the FDA.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided critical assistance in this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant Director Clint Narver, Trial Attorney Lauren M. Elfner, and Trial Attorney Joshua Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, investigated the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida.