Federal prosecutors have accused 10 people of orchestrating a $20 million scheme to “get rich” by buying and selling black-market H.I.V.
medications that in some cases had been purchased from low-income patients who risked their lives by selling it.
Some of those accused in the case then used the proceeds to buy luxury cars, waterfront real estate in New York City, designer clothes, jewelry and gold, according to a statement released Friday by Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
According to a 24-page indictment filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the scheme also involved bribing patients to use specific local pharmacies that were involved in the plot and defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies of millions of dollars since 2017.
Mr. Williams said those accused in the case had been “preying on vulnerable members of society.” Several of the defendants are facing decades in prison on various charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud and money laundering.
Persons:
Damian Williams, Williams
Organizations:
Southern, of, Court
Locations:
New York City, U.S, of New York, Manhattan