Ricardo Alfredo Jurado, Nationwide Prescription Drug Diversion Scheme, Florida 2024

Ricardo Alfredo Jurado, a 59-year-old Miami Beach resident, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a nationwide prescription drug diversion scheme.

According to court documents, Jurado obtained tens of millions of dollars’ worth of illegally diverted prescription drugs from other illicit, unlicensed sources in South Florida. He then sold these drugs to David Miller and his company, Minnesota Independent Cooperative (MIC), using a middleman named Fernando Galan.

Between July 2007 and April 2014, Jurado facilitated the sale of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of illegally diverted prescription drugs to Miller and MIC. To hide Jurado’s involvement in the sale of these drugs, Jurado and Miller used Galan as a middleman.

Jurado and his co-conspirators directed payments to more than 25 different bank accounts at banks in Mexico, Nicaragua, Canada, Florida, and other locations. During the course of the conspiracy, Miller and MIC wired more than $40 million to the bank accounts specified by Jurado.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer stated that prescription drug diversion compromises the integrity of America’s drug supply chain, allowing illegally diverted drugs to end up on the shelves of pharmacies and in the medicine cabinets of American consumers.

U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart emphasized that the drug diversion activities charged in this case create unacceptable public health risks, as patients purchased what they believed were FDA-approved prescription drugs that had remained in regulated distribution channels.

Jurado is the eighth co-conspirator to plead guilty for participating in the drug diversion scheme involving Miller and MIC. Miller and MIC are still facing charges, including one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, ten counts of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to make false statements and to distribute prescription drugs without a wholesale license.

The case is being investigated by the FDA-OCI and the USPIS. Ricardo Alfredo Jurado is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, Ohio. The exact date of sentencing is not specified.

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