United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - James Quinn, 73, of Surrey, United Kingdom, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for his alleged involvement in the illegal shipments of non-FDA approved prescription drugs to co-conspirators in the United States.   Quinn, along with two companies in the United Kingdom and Switzerland that he controls, were charged with five felony counts and he is due to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady for arraignment on Aug. 15, 2014.

Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Washington Field Division; Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of FDA’s Office of Criminal (OCI); Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’(ICE) Homeland Security (HSI) in Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement. 

According to the indictment, Quinn served as a supplier of non-FDA-approved drugs through his Switzerland-based company, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals AG, and he served as a trans-shipper of non-FDA-approved drugs through his United Kingdom-based company, World Medical Limited.  The indictment alleges that, as a trans-shipper, Quinn received non-FDA-approved drugs from countries such as India and the United Arab Emirates, broke those shipments into smaller packages, affixed false customs declarations and sent the packages to the United States on behalf of co-conspirators who sold non-FDA-approved drugs to medical practices across the United States.  Quinn’s co-conspirators are alleged to have included Gallant Pharma International Inc., which pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to 12 felony offenses on Dec. 2, 2013, and Pharmalogical Inc. (d/b/a Medical Device King), whose co-owners, William Scully and Shahrad Rodi Lameh, are awaiting trial on a 73-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York.

Quinn and his companies, World Medical Limited and Atlantic Pharmaceuticals AG, were charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with the following offenses: conspiracy, which is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison; importation contrary to law, which is punishable by a maximum term of 20 years in prison; two counts of felony introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, each of which are punishable by a maximum term of three years; two counts of misdemeanor introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, each of which are punishable by a maximum term of one year;  and unlicensed medical wholesaling, which is punishable by a maximum term of ten years.

The investigation was conducted by DEA’s Group 33 Diversion Task Force, FDA-OCI, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay A. Kelly, Maya Song and Jay Prabhuare prosecuting the case.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-277.