Man ran national drug ring from Florida using fake digital prescriptions, attorneys say
A man from Florida was accused of running a national drug ring using stolen digital prescriptions when a pharmacist in New York reported a man picking up prescriptions that were not in his name, state prosecutors said.
Devin Anthony Magarian, a 21-year-old from Kissimmee, faces four felony counts and 15 misdemeanors ranging from sale of a controlled substance to criminal diversion of prescription medication, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a Jan. 26 news release.
“My client is 21 years old with no criminal record,” Douglas Rankin, an attorney representing Magarian told the Associated Press. He called the case a “rush to judgment” and said he expects Magarian to be “fully exonerated.”
McClatchy News reached out to Rankin for comment and did not receive an immediate response.
‘Tens of thousands of prescriptions’
In February 2023, a pharmacist in Great Neck on Long Island noticed a man, unidentified by prosecutors, picking up two different prescriptions that were not written in his name, WABC reported.
Suspicious of him, the pharmacist contacted local authorities and told nearby pharmacies to keep an eye out, the outlet reported.
The man was later arrested, Donnelly said in the release, and his connections were tracked back to Magarian through a year-long investigation.
“Magarian is allegedly a leader in an elaborate, multi-state conspiracy that has fraudulently compromised the e-prescribing credentials of doctors throughout the United States and then used those credentials to issue tens of thousands of prescriptions for narcotics across the country,” Donnelly said.
The District Attorney said Magarian found a way to hack into the network and write fake scripts for drugs like oxycodone, codeine and promethazine, a cough syrup that is abused by drug users when combined with alcohol to create “purple drank,” according to the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.
Magarian would create the fake prescriptions under false names and send them to chain and “mom-and-pop” pharmacies across the country, Donnelly said.
Then “runners,” or people working with Magarian, would go and pick up the drugs to sell to customers, officials said.
Magarian used the app Telegram to announce when a new round of drugs would be available, the district attorney said, and customers could message him to either buy the drugs directly or buy the fake prescription and pick the drugs up themselves.
One of the ‘most complex’ drug rings
“This is one (of) the most complex and technologically sophisticated drug operations we’ve ever witnessed,” Donnelly said.
For example, in just five hours the drug ring was able to send out 18,500 fake prescriptions across 18 different states, according to the Associated Press.
Since the drugs were prescription grade and not tainted by fentanyl or counterfeit, Donnelly told the outlet, Magarian could charge an exceptionally high price.
The money was good, the AP reported Donnelly said, and Magarian used it to buy luxury cars, go to steak houses and strip clubs, and even purchase NBA courtside seats.
“This investigation was a case of modern day piracy; criminals stealing digital prescription pads to divert medication that put hundreds of thousands of people at risk,” Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in the release.
Magarian was arrested Jan. 17 while on his way to pick up $14,000 from a customer who was purchasing oxycodone, prosecutors said. The money was for seven different prescriptions for 90 tablets each, for a total of 630 oxycodone pills, according to officials.
The investigation remains ongoing, the district attorney said, and the total number of people believed to be involved in the ring has not been released.
Magarian faces a possible 20 years in prison if convicted, the district attorney’s office said.
Kissimmee is about 25 miles south of Orlando.
Man running fake summer camp stole from parents and went gambling in Vegas, feds say
Group created fake dating profiles and stole millions from widows in scam, feds say
Barn fire that killed puppies leads to discovery of cockfighting operation, cops say
FedEx driver accused of dumping $40,000 worth of packages is ordered to pay $805
