FRESNO, Calif. - Chaudhry Ahmad Farooq, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to distribute heroin, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin and U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, from approximately November 2015 through August 2016...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - McKesson Corporation, one of the nation’s largest distributors of pharmaceutical drugs, agreed to pay a record $150 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the Controlled Substances (CSA). The settlement resolves allegations that McKesson failed to design and implement an effective system to detect and report “suspicious...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Costco Wholesale will pay $11.75 million to settle allegations that its pharmacies violated the Controlled Substances (CSA) when they improperly filled prescriptions for controlled substances. The settlement resolves allegations that Costco pharmacies filled prescriptions that were incomplete, lacked valid DEA registration numbers or were for substances beyond...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A Lexington man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of a 37 year-old Fayette County, Kentucky, resident. On Thursday, January 12th, 2017, Joshua Donald Ewing, 28, was convicted of distribution of a controlled substance resulting...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The leader of a drug trafficking organization that brought significant amounts of heroin and fentanyl, from Detroit, Michigan for distribution in Richmond, Kentucky, has been sentenced to life in prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of a Madison (KY) resident. On January 9th...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Hung C. Nguyen, 40, of Moorpark, pleaded guilty today to manufacturing marijuana as part of a larger conspiracy to distribute marijuana throughout California, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin announced. According to court documents, Nguyen conducted a...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sukita M Williams, 44, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hilliard, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 72 months in prison for her role in a criminal organization that illegally trafficked the prescription painkiller oxycodone, between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Columbus, Ohio. Benjamin C. Glassman, United...

FRESNO, Calif. - Jose Soto, 36, resident of Lamont, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin announced. According to court documents, on May 5, 2016, at his residence in Lamont...

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury in Fresno returned an indictment today against Emil Vladimirov Babadjov, 31, of San Francisco, charging him with distributing fentanyl and heroin, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin announced. Babadjov was arrested and...

DETROIT, MI - U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today that a Livonia, Michigan doctor, Fanny Dela Cruz, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for participating in a conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription pills, and to defraud Medicare. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Timothy J. Plancon...