Related Federal Cases
HIV Medication Black Market Bust: $4 Million Scam Brought to Justice
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced the arrest of Robin Deleonrosa, a/k/a ‘Magic,’ a/k/a ‘Robin Deleon Rosa,’ a/k/a ‘Robin Rosa,’ for his role in a nationwide black market that distributed millions of dollars’ worth of fraudulently obtained HIV prescription drugs to unsuspecting consumers.
According to the charges, Deleonrosa personally obtained and sold more than $1.9 million worth of second-hand HIV prescription drugs. A search of his Bronx residence resulted in the seizure of over 1,000 bottles of second-hand HIV prescription pills, with an estimated value of $1.8 million, as well as lighter fluid used to remove labels from the pill bottles and over $70,000 in United States currency.
“As alleged, Robin Deleonrosa served as a middle-man in a black market scheme to illegally re-sell potentially dangerous or ineffective second-hand HIV medications to unsuspecting patients and pharmacies,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “As a result of his alleged participation in this scheme, Deleonrosa endangered the health of unsuspecting patients needing these drugs, and defrauded Medicaid of more than an estimated $1.9 million.”
Deleonrosa will be presented later today in Manhattan federal court before Magistrate Judge Frank Maas. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The black market distribution network, which operated from at least September 2013 until April 2016, distributed bulk quantities of second-hand HIV prescription drugs to unsuspecting consumers. The members of the ring would initially obtain the HIV prescription drugs by purchasing them from patients to whom these medications were originally prescribed.
The prescription HIV bottles would then be collected and the labels, containing the patients’ names, would be removed using dangerous substances, including lighter fluid and other potentially hazardous chemicals. Through this process, the members of the black market distribution network made the bottles appear new in order to conceal the fact that the bottles had previously been dispensed to patients.
Consumers who eventually received these second-hand prescription HIV medications were not aware that the prescription bottles had been previously sold, treated with potentially hazardous chemicals, and possibly not stored under conditions sufficient to maintain their medical efficacy.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
