State and federal law enforcement officials in northeastern Ohio conducted an investigation regarding the sale of prescription opiates and opiods in the area. As a result, three individuals — a pharmacist, his wife and the pharmacist’s business partner — were the subject of a federal grand jury hearing recently. The grand jury voted to indict the trio on drug and money laundering charges, among other things.
The pharmacist owns two pharmacies in Ohio — one of which he owns with his business partner who is also a pharmacist. He is accused of selling Schedule II drugs such as oxycodone through the pharmacies to individuals who did not have prescriptions for the medications. Both men are accused of defrauding the IRS and money laundering. The first man and his wife are accused of making false statements to governmental agencies and structuring — grouping deposits of cash in order to avoid the bank generating a report of the currency transaction.
The report did not mention what proof investigators have linking the three to the activities with which they have allegedly been involved. All of the charges are serious, and the consequences could be severe. Even though state and local law enforcement were involved in the investigation, the charges were filed in the federal court for the Northern District of Ohio, and they are being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for that district.
Whether the charges are state or federal, the individuals facing these drug and money laundering charges are to be presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. All three of them are entitled to review the evidence with their criminal defense teams to ensure that their individual rights have been protected throughout the investigation and that law enforcement officials have followed proper procedures. When that is done, all of the options available can be discussed in an effort to formulate the best defense to the charges.
Source: wkyc.com, “Local pharmacist and his wife indicted on drug charges“, , June 4, 2014