Mocobizscene- A nationwide pharmacy scam, orchestrated by a man in Florida, involved hacking into doctors’ phones to fraudulently obtain thousands of fake prescriptions, according to prosecutors on Long Island.
Prosecutors allege that Devin Magarian, a 21-year-old man, engaged in the misconduct of reselling prescription drugs obtained through fraudulent means. The criminal complaint suggests that Magarian made substantial profits, amounting to tens of millions of dollars, by selling these medications for hundreds of dollars per pill.
Magarian entered a plea of not guilty before a judge on Friday on Long Island. Authorities revealed that they successfully dismantled a criminal network that operated across at least eight states.
Anne Donnelly, the district attorney for Nassau County, announced that a joint investigation involving her office, the Nassau County Police Department, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration successfully halted Magarian’s extensive and illegal operation.
During a news conference at her office on Friday morning, she mentioned that there could have been millions of pills that were distributed.
According to Donnelly, Magarian managed to successfully impersonate numerous doctors on the internet. He reportedly hacked into the digital versions of doctors’ prescription pads, writing thousands of prescriptions under their names. In states like Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, he was able to convince pharmacies to fill these prescriptions under the impression that they were legitimate patients.
Investigators discovered that the patients’ names and addresses provided by Magarian were actually fake. Furthermore, Magarian had an extensive network of accomplices, known as runners, who would collect the bottles containing promethazine, codeine, and oxycodone.
According to prosecutors, the scale of the operation was enormous.
Over the course of a single weekend, Magarian accomplished the impressive feat of generating 18,500 prescriptions, as revealed by DA Donnelly.
The operation, valued at tens of millions of dollars, was conducted entirely from Magarian’s residence in Kissimmee, Florida, according to Donnelly. The breakthrough in the investigation was provided by a pharmacy located on Long Island, as Donnelly mentioned.
Donnelly shared an incident where a pharmacist from Great Neck received a message from a doctor’s office, stating, “My e-prescription has been compromised. Do not fill any scripts.”
The pharmacist became suspicious when they received a prescription from Florida that seemed unusual. They immediately alerted the Nassau County police, which initiated a year-long investigation. Finally, this week, the investigation concluded with the arrest of Magarian.
Douglas Rankin, the suspect’s attorney, addressed the media outside the courtroom on Friday.
The defense attorney confidently stated that it was the defendant’s first encounter with legal trouble and they were determined to clear his name.
If Magarian is found guilty, the most severe charge he faces is the sale of a controlled substance, which carries a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years.
During a news conference on Friday, District Attorney Donnelly and DEA agent Frank Tarantino both confirmed that the investigation into Magarian is still ongoing. They revealed that the investigation is not limited to a specific region and that they anticipate bringing more charges against Magarian in the coming months.
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