Lake Havasu pair indicted in Internet drug scheme

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Bob Christie
Associated Press
Jul. 6, 2008 12:00 AM
A Lake Havasu City couple who ran a company that authorities say imported Indian-made knockoffs of popular prescription drugs and sold them as brand-name U.S. drugs has been indicted by a federal grand jury, the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix announced last week.

Randy T. French, 52, and his wife, Sheila D. French, 42, face charges of conspiracy, smuggling, mail and wire fraud and shipping misbranded drugs in interstate commerce. Their company, Prescription Buyer's Group Inc., was indicted on the same criminal counts.

According to the indictment, the couple's firm offered more than 600 name-brand drugs, including blockbusters such as Viagra, Celebrex and Lipitor, at deep discounts through its Web site and toll-free telephone lines. The government alleges the company instead sent knockoffs manufactured in India that weren't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and which they had smuggled into the U.S.

Between July 2004 and January 2006, the company filled more than 15,000 orders and generated revenue of more than $2.5 million, according to the government.

The couple were issued a summons, but a court date hasn't been set. The phone listing for Randy French in Lake Havasu City didn't take messages, and the U.S. attorney's office was unaware if the couple had a lawyer. A telephone listing for Prescription Buyer's Group rang unanswered.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of assets the couple obtained through the alleged illegal activities.

According to the indictment, the Frenches incorporated Prescription Buyer's Group in Arizona in September 2002.

In July 2004 and again in September 2004, an undercover investigator with drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. placed orders for the company's erectile dysfunction drug Cialis with Prescription Buyer's Group. Within a month, in each case the operative received a drug labeled as "Tadalis," according to the indictment.

Robert Reilley, Eli Lilly's director of global security, said Wednesday that Tadalis appears to be an unapproved generic. He said Eli Lilly uses employees with law-enforcement backgrounds to look for firms hawking fake or counterfeit drugs. They then turn any information they gather over to law enforcement for possible prosecution.

The problem is a big one, especially with Internet sales, where buyers have no guarantee what they're really getting, Reilley said. He said there are legitimate pharmacies on the Web, but they're small in number compared to those selling counterfeit or unapproved generics.

"Our recommendation to any patient is to buy through a known pharmacy, through their doctors and not blindly through the Internet where they might not know ... what they're actually going to get at the end of the day," Reilley said. "They're relying solely on the appearance of a Web site, and what you see is not always what you get."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...drugs0706.html