Pharmacist Forfeits $2 Million for Filling Illegal Fioricet Orders

Following accusations of conspiracy, a Mississippi pharmacist will pay the federal government $2 million as part of a plea deal.

John McKinney, of Moss Point, Mississippi, was accused of distributing Fioricet online to patients who had not received in-person medical consultations, The Associated Press (AP) reported. McKinney is the manager of eCareMD, which pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy.

An unidentified man allegedly asked McKinney and another pharmacist in 2005 if they were interested in acting as an affiliate pharmacy and filling and shipping prescription drug orders on behalf of certain Internet pharmacies, according to court documents.

These online pharmacies collected information about customers’ symptoms and medical histories. After customers chose the drugs and quantities they wanted, affiliate doctors signed electronic prescriptions, and then the drugs were shipped to the patients’ addresses, the AP reported. The customers did not have in-person medical consultations at any point during the process.

While McKinney is based in Mississippi, the case was brought to New Orleans, because many of the prescriptions distributed over a decade or so were sent to the New Orleans area.

McKinney’s attorney, Rick Simmons, described his client’s actions as an “ill-advised venture into Internet sales,” according to the AP. Simmons also said that McKinney would not see individual criminal charges filed against him.