Eagan business indicted for allegedly selling illegal prescriptions

According to the indictment, MIC owner David Jess Miller, 50, of Santa Ana, Calif. sold $393 million worth of illegally purchased prescriptions since 2007.

Minnesota Independent Cooperative Inc. — located at the Eagan Business Commons II at Dodd and Lone Oak roads — allegedly purchased drugs from a network of illegal and unlicensed sources in New York, Florida and California.

From 2007 to 2014 Miller paid Artur Stepanyan, 38, and Mihran Stepanyan, 29, both of Encino, Calif. about $160 million for the illegal drugs which the two men sold to Miller and MIC under a variety of company names including Panda Capital Group, Red Rock Capital Group, and Trans Atlantic Capital Group.

“Once a prescription drug is diverted outside of the regulated distribution channels, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, for regulators, law enforcement and end-users to know whether the prescription drug package actually contains the correct drug or the correct dose,” U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart said in a news release.  “We will aggressively prosecute individuals and companies that ignore the law and sell illegally diverted prescription drugs to pharmacies, and ultimately, to American consumers.

To conceal the illegal sources of the prescription drugs, Miller and MIC falsified the drugs’ pedigree documents, authorities say. Pedigrees are documents required by law that show the source of drugs.

MIC’s fraudulent pedigrees falsely listed B&Y Wholesale, a company in Puerto Rico and co-owned by co-conspirator Yusef Yassin Gomez, as the source of the company’s drugs. The documents also falsely stated that Yassin’s company was an authorized distributor of the drugs.

Yassin pleaded guilty in a U.S. District court in Ohio on Feb. 19, 2014 to conspiracy to engage in the wholesale distribution of prescription drugs without a wholesale license. In connection with his plea agreement, Yassin admitted he agreed to allow Miller and MIC to use his company’s name on pedigree documents to conceal the true source of its drugs. In exchange, Miller paid Yassin a commission on all the drug sales.

Miller and his company sold these illegally sourced drugs to wholesalers and retail pharmacies throughout the nation, including multiple customers in the Southern District of Ohio, authorities say.

Miller, and Artur and Mihran Stepanyan were also among 30 people to be charged in a separate indictment in California with conspiracy to commit identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute prescription drugs without a whole sale license.