FLORIDA — A Florida pharmacist has been sentenced for trafficking in prescription drugs.
Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that her Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP) secured a 25-year prison sentence for a pharmacist that reportedly trafficked prescription drugs, including opioids.
According to Moody’s Office, Ekaette Isemin owned and operated Care Point Pharmacy in Ormond Beach. A law enforcement investigation reportedly found Isemin filled prescriptions with minimal-to-no confirmation from the prescribing doctor, Moody said.
“We secured a long prison sentence for a pharmacist responsible for flooding Florida streets with prescription painkillers and other controlled substances with minimal or sometimes no confirmation from the prescribing doctor,” said Moody.
“While she used her profession in an attempt to conceal her crimes, my Statewide Prosecutors proved to the court that her true work was that of a common drug dealer.”
According to the investigation, from December 2016 through March 2018, Isemin illegally filled prescriptions for various opioids. The Florida Department of Health suspended Isemin’s license in 2018, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly found the pharmacy continuing to run under the licensure suspension in 2019.
The prescriptions being filled included alprazolam, diazepam, ketamine, testosterone, and tramadol; many of which can be dangerous if used while not prescribed, Moody said.
Last month, following guilty verdicts returned by a Volusia County jury, the OSP secured convictions for Isemin on eight felony charges related to the trafficking of hydromorphone; four counts of 4-14 grams and four counts of 4-28 grams.
Judge Elizabeth A. Blackburn sentenced Isemin to 25 years in prison and a more than $150,000 fine.
A separate and additional plea trial is set on Feb. 21 for the sale and delivery of diazepam, ketamine and testosterone, Moody said.
Attorney General Moody’s Statewide Prosecutor, Nicole Pegues, prosecuted this case.
