Too Much Evidence Cited as Reason for Dropping Drug Charges Against Fugitive Doctor
A federal judge in Iowa has dropped charges against a fugitive doctor because it’s become too costly for federal officials to maintain evidence in the massive online pharmacy case.
The case against Miami doctor Armando Angulo, the nation’s largest prosecution of online pharmacies, involves more than 400,000 documents, computers, servers and two terabytes of electronic data, the Associated Press reports. The documents in this single case took up about five percent of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s worldwide electronic storage space.
Indicted in 2007, Angulo was accused of operating a multimillion dollar scheme involving the sale of prescription drugs to patients never examined by doctors. He fled to his native Panama after authorities in Iowa began investigating him in 2004 as part of a law enforcement operation that resulted in 26 convictions, including 19 doctors.
The AP reports that prosecutors asked that the charges be dropped to free up storage space. But that doesn’t mean that Angulo is free and clear. He’s still on Florida’s most wanted list and is being sought for separate charges of Medicaid fraud and narcotics charges.
Hat Tip: Daily Business Review
