Florida man sentenced for illegal distribution of adulterated HIV meds

MIAMI, Fla.  — A Florida man has been sentenced for distributing adulterated HIV medication.

Armando Herrera, 43, of Miami, was sentenced in December to four years and three months in prison for his role in a nationwide scheme to illegally distribute at least $16.7 million of adulterated HIV drugs that were ultimately dispensed to unsuspecting patients throughout the country.

According to court documents, Herrera and his co-conspirators established companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California, which they used to sell and distribute adulterated prescription drugs, primarily HIV medications, to wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers.

Herrera and his co-conspirators created false documentation to make it appear as though the drugs were acquired legitimately when, in fact, they were not. The pharmaceutical suppliers then sold the drugs to pharmacies, which dispensed the adulterated prescription drugs to unwitting patients.

As part of the investigation, federal agents said they seized more than $1.5 million worth of adulterated prescription drugs from Herrera, including more than 16,000 tablets of adulterated and misbranded HIV medication.

Herrera pleaded guilty on Sept. 25 to one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe made the announcement for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Mahmood of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region; Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.

HHS-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and the FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón for the Southern District of Florida handled asset forfeiture.