Livonia pharmacist charged with illegally distributing cough syrup
LIVONIA, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A pharmacist in Livonia was charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and illegally dispensing millions of dollars of prescription cough syrup, Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.
Zaman Alshafay, 35, of Dearborn, was the owner of Med Pro Pharmacy in Livonia.
He allegedly distributed promethazine cough syrup without valid prescriptions.
According to the indictment, Alshafay ordered more than 300,000 pint-sized bottles of promethazine cough syrup from distributors outside of Michigan. He would sell the cough syrup to drug dealers without a valid prescription and pay the wholesaler distributors via wire transfers from the funds he received.
"A pharmacist violates the public's trust by unlawfully dispensing any drug. We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners, to identify and target those in the medical community who illegally dispense prescription drugs onto the street." Ison said.
Officials say the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Regina R. McCullough.