Online pharmacy, which bills itself as the largest in Canada, was fined on Friday for $34 million to import counterfeit cancer drugs and other unapproved drugs in the US, the proposal that one advocacy group called too light for such a heinous crime.
Canada drugs has filled millions of prescriptions by offering themselves as safe alternatives for patients to save money on expensive medication, and its founder, Kris Thorkelson, was regarded as a pioneer in the industry for starting the company in 2001.
But U.S. prosecutors say the business model of Canada drugs is entirely based on illegal imports of unapproved and mislabelled drugs not only from Canada but from around the world. The company made at least $ 78 million through illegal imports, including two which were counterfeit versions of cancer drugs Avastin and Altuzan that did not have active ingredient, prosecutors said.
After more than two years trying to get an international company in a U.S. court to face charges in Canada drugs and Thorkelson, struck a bargain plea with prosecutors late last year.
On Friday, a judge in Missoula, Montana, approved for Federal prosecutors the proposals, which include a $ 29 million seized, $ 5 million fine and five years probation for Canada drugs.
U.S. district judge Dana Christensen also Thorkelson sentenced to six months house arrest, five years probation and a fine in the amount of 250,000$.
Canada drugs and for all to stop the sale of all unapproved, improperly labeled and counterfeit drugs and hand over all domain names for multiple sites, he sold drugs under the Internet.
Human rights group urged the judge to toughen penalties to deter future crimes.
“Counterfeit Oncology drugs are nearly impossible to track and heinous crimes health care,” Shabbir Imber Safdar, Executive Director of the partnership for safe medicines, wrote in a letter to the judge. “You put the saline in the bottle, and when cancer takes him, there is no evidence in the patient of the crime.”
After the verdict, Safdar called the sanctions a “slap on the wrist and an insult to victims of crime in Canada drugs.”
Said Safdar Thorkelson should get a prison sentence and that Thorkelson and licenses pharmacy Canada drugs must be returned. The group also wants to Canada drugs to throw all your domain names online, including those not named in the deal to prevent the company from continuing to sell mislabelled and counterfeit medicines.
Canada drugs and lawyers Thorkelson not return messages seeking comment.
Federal prosecutors wrote in court documents that the recommended sentence is appropriate. Montana attorney Kurt Alme said after the verdict that Thorkelson and Canada drugs endangers the health and safety of Americans to bypass the approval process by the food and drug Administration.
“This case shows that U.S. suppliers and consumers must be wary when buying medicines on the Internet,” said Alma in a statement.
The case is in the us state of Montana, where Canada drugs bought another company to inventory the medication and a list of customers when it expanded in 2009. Canada drugs has continued to put money in the company Bank of Montana account from the purchase doctors illegally imported drugs before admission were sent to offshore accounts in the Caribbean, prosecutors said.
The company and two subsidiaries pleaded guilty to introducing mislabelled drugs in interstate Commerce, and its subsidiaries also agreed to plead guilty to selling counterfeit drugs.
Thorkelson, pleaded guilty to knowing and concealing criminal offence.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
