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Man accused of $125M online drug scheme
From Susan Candiotti
and James Polk
CNN
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 Posted: 11:53 PM EST (0453 GMT)


MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- A businessman accused of being the linchpin of a $125 million scheme to sell controlled substances on the Internet was arrested Wednesday at his oceanfront mansion in Miami Beach.
Vincent Chhabra was taken into custody by federal agents who closed off his street in the gated Golden Beach enclave in northern Miami Beach as they moved in with an arrest warrant.
Chhabra and nine others, including a pharmacist and doctor in Virginia and four other doctors from Kentucky, Ohio and Missouri, were named in a 108-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia.
The charges include money laundering and issuing controlled substances over the Internet, primarily the diet pills Bontril, Phentermine and Meridia.
"Drug trafficking in cyberspace is just as harmful to public safety as drug trafficking on street corners," said Paul McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement.
According to the indictment, Chhabra, 32, was the owner and operator of several businesses that ran various Web sites in the past five years enticing consumers to buy their drugs there with such enticements as, "No appointments, no waiting rooms, no prior prescription needed."
The drugs are designated as controlled substances, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, because they are often abused and are considered highly addictive.
On the Web sites, buyers were instructed to simply fill out a questionnaire without seeing a doctor to obtain the drugs they wanted. Federal law requires controlled substances such as diet pills be dispensed under close medical supervision.
One of the Web sites claimed that the site's physician would write the prescription for the consumer, the indictment says.
Federal agents say prescriptions from these sites could often be refilled without limits and the drugs resold to addicts.
The indictment also says "customers often received discounts for buying greater quantities."
Unshaven and with dark circles under his eyes, Chhabra appeared Wednesday before a federal magistrate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His sister, Sabina S. Faruqui, 30, who was indicted as a co-conspirator, appeared with him.
Chhabra is being held without bond pending a hearing next week.
Sean Ellsworth, Chhabra's attorney, said his client has "always maintained his innocence and he's looking forward to his trial."
DEA agents raided one of Chhabra's businesses, Rx Network, in Davie, Florida, on October 22 and seized thousands of pills. His license to distribute controlled substances was also rescinded, despite a legal challenge by his attorneys.
If found guilty, Chhabra faces a mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison on the charge of operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
Prosecutors say he and the other defendants also face a maximum 20 years imprisonment for the money laundering conspiracy and another three to five years for each of the controlled substance violations.
CNN's Terry Frieden contributed to this report

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"Drug trafficking in cyberspace is just as harmful to public safety as drug trafficking on street corners," said Paul McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement.

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This Jackhole needs a refresher course in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!

Why is it that the government feels the need to tell us what is and is'nt good for us? For some reason they seem to think that we are all idiots and need them to tell us how to live our lives and that we are unable to make our own decisions when it comes to our own healthcare issues among other things.

Last time I checked this was known as facisem. When I was in the Navy I don't remember hearing that as being one of the "American Values" I was defending.

Paragoric