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Prescription Fraud and Drug Trafficking Charges Brought Against 53 Defendants in Philadelphia
Federal officials announced the indictment of 53 defendants facing multiple charges related to their involvement in a prescription fraud and drug trafficking scheme in Philadelphia, PA. The 498-count indictment charges the defendants – among them physician Norman Werther and pharmacist Ihsanullah “Sean” Maaf – with writing and dispensing fraudulent prescriptions and using fake patient information, as well as drug possession, drug distribution, and 240 counts of health care fraud. Agents from multiple federal and local agencies arrested the defendants on August 10, 2011.
As explained in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) press release, Werther and Maaf are accused of involvement in a scheme with alleged drug trafficker William Stukes, of Philadelphia. The indictment alleges that Stukes and his organization would recruit people to pose as patients. These individuals were taken to Werther’s office where prescriptions for oxycodone-based drugs were issued without legitimate medical need. These individuals then had the prescriptions filled at various pharmacies, including Northeast Pharmacy where Maaf was employed. The pills were given to Stukes or his associates and were sold to drug dealers for sale on the street. The FBI press release notes that “It is estimated that between September 2009 and July 2011, the Stukes drug trafficking organization earned more than $5 million through these illegal prescriptions and that the defendants unlawfully acquired and distributed over 200,000 pills containing oxycodone.” This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Inspector General, and the FBI, with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department, the North Coventry Police Department, and the Upper Moreland Police Department and it will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Rotella and Nancy Beam Winter. Information about additional related charges and the names of other defendants charged in the case are available in the FBI press release.
