A New Jersey man was sentenced Wednesday to serve 3 1/2 years in federal prison for taking part in a prescription drug diversion scheme that sold undocumented medicines to pharmacies across the United States.
Phil Defonte, who owned PDRX Marketing LLC, appeared in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City to face sentencing on the charge of selling drugs without a pedigree.
Prosecutors said that Defonte and others distributed drugs without a drug pedigree to various pharmacies, including those in Georgia, Florida, California, New Jersey, New York and Utah. The Food and Drug Administration requires drugs not directly sold by pharmaceutical companies to have pedigree documentation to prove their authenticity.
Assistant U.S. attorney Mark Hirata said a portion of the medications, some of which went to treat those with cancer and AIDS, were expired, and others had their dosage amounts mislabeled.
"Diverted drugs jeopardize public health," Hirata said in court.
Defonte's attorney, Loren Weiss, said his client never sold drugs to the public but rather to other distributors. He also maintained that all of the drugs were FDA approved and were not counterfeit.
Hirata countered that although it was unlikely the drugs were fake, without FDA pedigree, it was impossible to verify the authenticity of the drugs.
"He was a small fish in a very big pond," Weiss said.
U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart said he believed Defonte's role in the operation was being downplayed, adding what was being done put the public's health and safety at risk. Stewart also noted that Defonte personally made up to $2 million in profit from just a few drug sales.
While his crying wife looked on, Defonte asked the court to spare him prison time to allow him to be a father to his son.
Stewart handed down a sentence of 41 months with 36 months supervised release afterward. At the request of Defonte, Stewart ordered the sentence to run concurrent with a pending drug case in New Jersey. Sentencing on that case is scheduled for Nov. 1.
Four other men have been charged in Utah in connection with the case, along with about 10 others in various parts of the country.
Mohamed Shafeek of Valley Stream, N.Y., pleaded guilty last April to charges of mail fraud, unauthorized distribution of a drug without a pedigree with intent to defraud and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 7. Todd Gerbovaz of California is scheduled to be sentenced in Utah next Monday.
Ayyoob Abbaszadeh of Salt Lake City was sentenced to 12 months probation for a smaller role. Prosecutors say Kagan Ocak, also formerly of Salt Lake City, has fled the country to Turkey to avoid prosecution.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com