Florida Pharmacist Convicted of Massive Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy
A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted a Florida licensed pharmacist and pharmacy owner yesterday for her role in dispensing over 300,000 oxycodone 30mg pills to pharmacy patrons who had no medical need for the drug.According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Olushola Yusuf, 60, of Tampa, dispensed oxycodone to nearly all her pharmacy customers. Yusuf charged customers approximately 10 times the typical cost of the drug and required payment from them in cash. In total, Yusuf dispensed at least 335,351 pills of oxycodone 30mg during the conspiracy. Oxycodone 30mg is the maximum strength available of the drug and is both sought after and potentially dangerous due to its potency. It is typically prescribed to seriously ill patients, such as those suffering from chronic cancer pain or traumatic injuries.“The defendant abused the public trust by using her pharmacies to unlawfully distribute deadly opioids,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This conviction sends an unmistakable message: whether you deal drugs on a street corner or from behind a pharmacy counter, the Fraud Division will hold you fully accountable under the law.”“Olushola Yusuf did not simply ignore red flags. She built her business around them,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “She knowingly flooded South Florida communities with more than 335,000 high-dose oxycodone pills, even after her employees and the DEA warned her about the dangers of her conduct. Yusuf charged extraordinary cash prices, served drug dealers and customers who traveled long distances, and put profit ahead of patients, public safety, and her responsibilities as a pharmacist. Yesterday, a federal jury held her accountable.”“Pharmacists occupy a position of public trust and serve as a critical safeguard against the diversion of controlled substances,” said DEA Chief of Operations Matthew W. Allen. “By dispensing hundreds of thousands of oxycodone pills to virtually anyone willing to pay inflated cash prices, the defendant abandoned that responsibility, exploited addiction, and endangered lives for personal profit. This conviction reinforces DEA’s commitment to the American people: no one is above the law when they violate the public’s trust and contribute to the unlawful distribution of dangerous drugs.”“By distributing dangerous and highly addictive narcotics, the defendant demonstrated a clear disregard for their community and endangered countless residents who should have been able to trust their pharmacist,” said FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia. “The opioid epidemic continues to plague our nation, which is why the FBI, along with our partners, will continue to hold the criminals poisoning our communities with these drugs accountable.”Yusuf owned and operated two pharmacies, Boots LLC d/b/a Striderite (Boots) in Margate, Florida, and Chans Pharmacy Plus, Inc. (Chans) in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Yusuf distributed oxycodone 30mg pills through these pharmacies. Customers drove long distances across the state of Florida to have Yusuf fill prescriptions that they could not get filled at any other pharmacy. Some customers paid as much as $1,000 a month in cash to Yusuf for the drugs. And some customers were drug dealers, who picked up oxycodone pills purportedly on behalf of dozens of patients at a time who were not present. According to witnesses at trial, Yusuf kept the doors to her pharmacies locked during business hours, directing employees only to open the door for certain identified customers. Yusuf continued to dispense the oxycodone in this way even after repeated warnings from her employees and the DEA about the dangers of her pharmacy operations.
