Illegal Online Pharmacy Leader Sentenced to Prison

The operator of an illegal online pharmacy that distributed narcotics and other prescription medication was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Juan Gallinal, a former police officer from Virginia, was arrested for his role in the online pill mill operation.

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) press release confirmed Gallinal’s involvement in the online pharmacy, which included distributing thousands of pills of hydrocodone, phentermine, alprazolam, and codeine to individuals without legitimate prescriptions. Gallinal operated the drug distribution conspiracy under the name “Discount Pharmacy,” and later, “A-1 Pharmacy,” in Washington State between 2009 and 2012. During that time, the pharmacy illicitly sold prescription drugs to some 200 customers in Washington State and thousands of customers across the country. The 3-year conspiracy reeled in a $9 million revenue.

Gallinal and his co-conspirators solicited customers using 4 internet sites to fill prescriptions that were invalid. Conspirators would also use physicians’ names and DEA numbers without their knowledge, and charged medications as much as 10 times their actual price. DEA officials seized the websites, computers, and drug inventory of the illegal pharmacy after an investigation.

Gallinal later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances by means of the internet, conspiracy to introduce misbranded prescription drugs, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and destruction, alteration, and concealment of records.

The other defendants include:

• Craig Greer, 43, of Hollywood, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
• Kevin Kogan, 48, of Cedar Park, Texas, was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
• Jordan Truxell, 26, of Davie, Florida served as the registered agent for Discount Pharmacy dba frontierpharmacies.com. He was sentenced to a year in prison in June 2016;
• Thomas Brooke, 54, of Cooper City, Florida, the bookkeeper for Discount Pharmacy, was sentenced in March 2016 to 60 months in prison.
• Ali Lovins, 44, of Cooper City, Florida is a registered nurse and was the office manager for Discount Pharmacy. Lovins was sentenced in March 2016 to 36 months in prison.

Reference

Leader of illegal online pharmacy sentenced to 8 Years in prison [news release]. Seattle. DEA’s website. https://www.dea.gov/divisions/sea/2017/sea012717.shtml. Accessed Jan. 30, 2017.