Two men charged with stealing, selling $366K in diabetes supplies
Two men have been arrested for conspiracy in connection with an elaborate scheme that involved the stealing and selling of diabetic supplies from an Everett, Wash.-based pharmacy, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office.
Michael Ralph Worley, 43, of Comano Island, Wash., and Donald Alan Pepin, 55, of Jupiter, Fla., were charged by a federal grand jury in Seattle for two counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods (Worley) and two counts of receipt of stolen goods (Pepin).
Worley, who worked as a pharmacy technician at the Providence Medical Center’s Pacific Campus Pharmacy in Everett, Wash., stole $366,054 worth of diabetic supplies including insulin and diabetic test strips and resold them to Pepin, as well as on eBay. The retail value of the goods totaled over $1.2 million.
Worley was terminated from the Pacific Campus Pharmacy in November 2008 after an audit discovered that large amounts of insulin had been purchased.
It was reported that Worley shipped the supplies to Pepin’s Jupiter, Fla.-based business, Medical Resources, that he later sold to small drug distributors and pharmacies that were not aware that Pepin's business was not a licensed drug wholesaler.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice report, the insulin was not refrigerated during shipping, making it unfit for use. The indictment outlines payments in excess of $2,000 from Pepin to Worley beginning in June 2005 for the insulin shipments.
Both men could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy, 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud, and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for both transportation of stolen property and receipt of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.
The case is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Everett Police Department and the Washington State Board of Pharmacy.
Both men will be summoned to appear in federal court in Seattle for arraignment.
Michael Ralph Worley, 43, of Comano Island, Wash., and Donald Alan Pepin, 55, of Jupiter, Fla., were charged by a federal grand jury in Seattle for two counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods (Worley) and two counts of receipt of stolen goods (Pepin).
Worley, who worked as a pharmacy technician at the Providence Medical Center’s Pacific Campus Pharmacy in Everett, Wash., stole $366,054 worth of diabetic supplies including insulin and diabetic test strips and resold them to Pepin, as well as on eBay. The retail value of the goods totaled over $1.2 million.
Worley was terminated from the Pacific Campus Pharmacy in November 2008 after an audit discovered that large amounts of insulin had been purchased.
It was reported that Worley shipped the supplies to Pepin’s Jupiter, Fla.-based business, Medical Resources, that he later sold to small drug distributors and pharmacies that were not aware that Pepin's business was not a licensed drug wholesaler.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice report, the insulin was not refrigerated during shipping, making it unfit for use. The indictment outlines payments in excess of $2,000 from Pepin to Worley beginning in June 2005 for the insulin shipments.
Both men could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy, 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud, and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for both transportation of stolen property and receipt of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.
The case is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Everett Police Department and the Washington State Board of Pharmacy.
Both men will be summoned to appear in federal court in Seattle for arraignment.