Pharmacist Faces Federal Drug Charges, Thousands of Opioids

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses.

A south Florida pharmacist was charged with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, the charge stems from the pharmacist’s ownership and operation of a pharmacy, Neighborhood Pharmacy, in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he purchased large amounts of two powerful, short-acting opioids: oxycodone and hydromorphone. From 2019 to 2021, Neighborhood Pharmacy was by far the largest purchaser of these opioids in its zip code. Instead of dispensing these drugs pursuant to valid prescriptions, the pharmacist sold the vast majority of the opioids onto the black market. Specifically, over a two-year period, the pharmacist sold 219,567 pills of oxycodone and 112,840 pills of hydromorphone onto the black market.