Maryland brothers convicted in South Florida black-market HIV drug scheme, feds say

A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale has convicted two Maryland brothers of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to buy and resell misbranded HIV medication much of it funneled through South Florida suppliers and pharmacies personnel stated According to the Department of Justice Patrick Boyd and Charles Boyd owners of the pharmaceutical wholesale company Safe Chain Solutions were unveiled guilty Oct of multiple charges including conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce trafficking in biological products with false documentation and wire fraud Their co-owner Adam Brosius previously pleaded guilty Prosecutors explained the brothers purchased more than million in black-market HIV drugs from at least five illegal suppliers and resold them to thousands of pharmacies nationwide including in South Florida using falsified paperwork to disguise the medications origins Evidence at trial established that one supplier Peter Khaim shipped bottles stuffed into scavenged cardboard boxes including a diaper box with countless containers dirty scuffed missing labels or containing the wrong medication according to the DOJ The Boyds accepted and resold the drugs despite repeated complaints from pharmacies about tampering prosecutors announced At least one recipient suffered a biological exigency after ingesting Seroquel an antipsychotic that had been mislabeled as HIV medication leading to a -hour loss of consciousness according to the DOJ Prosecutors revealed that missing doses of HIV medication can raise viral loads and increase transmission threat particularly in communities with high infection rates More than million of the misbranded drugs were supplied by Gentek whose leaders operated out of Miami One Miami-based leader has already been sentenced to years in prison Two former Safe Chain compliance authorities testified they repeatedly warned the Boyds about the dangers of buying from black-market sources but were ignored According to prosecutors one explained the brothers discouraged documentation and often responded to compliance concerns with the phrase FITFO short for Figure it the out The Boyds each face up to years in prison on the wire fraud charge and additional penalties on the remaining counts Sentencing has not been scheduled