Woman Sentenced in Drug Case Involving Town & Country Doctor

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Sandra L. Behe, 44, of La Jolla, California was sentenced to five years probation and 200 hours of community service for distributing adulterated prescription drugs to doctors across the country, including Abid Nisar of Town and Country.

As previously reported by Patch,  Prosecutors stated that Nisar will also pay $1,000,336 in restitution to Medicare in connection to false claims for payment to the Medicare.   

Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office issued the following information in a new release regarding Behe's involvement and sentence.

Sandra L. Behe, 44, of La Jolla, California was sentenced to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service for distributing adulterated prescription drugs to physicians in the United States, including Town and Country, Missouri doctor Abid Nisar.        

In her plea agreement, Behe admitted that she and others caused the distribution of adulterated cancer chemotherapy prescription drugs from foreign countries to Dr. Nisar and other oncologists located in the United States. 

As disclosed by Court documents, during Fall 2010, Behe and others began distributing "cold chain" prescription drugs that required a uniform cold temperature during shipment, including the drugs marketed in the United States as Neupogen®, Herceptin®, and Rituxan®.  The U.S. labeling for these drugs requires that they be stored and shipped at constant temperatures between 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), and cautions that the drugs should not be shaken or frozen.        

In her plea agreement, Behe admitted that on October 13, 2010, Dr. Nisar received a shipment of the prescription drugs marketed in the United States as Rituxan® and Herceptin® from her and others. 

Dr. Nisar’s drug shipment was warm upon arrival from overseas, and contained what a nurse working at the practice described as "a gooey mess," with a "gooey substance" covered two prescription drug boxes from this package.  One of the "cold packs" included in the box had leaked or was damaged during shipment, making the boxes of the prescription drugs in the package wet and disintegrated.  Behe agreed that these drugs were illegal and “adulterated” under federal law in that the methods of their storage and shipment were not appropriate and did not provide adequate protection against foreseeable external factors in storage and use that can cause deterioration or contamination of these prescription drugs.         

"As this case shows, introducing foreign, unapproved pharmaceuticals into the U.S. market can lead to the distribution of adulterated drugs to physicians who treat especially vulnerable patients" said Patrick J. Holland, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Field Office of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations.  "FDA and our law enforcement partners are committed to pursuing the prosecution of those who violate federal laws by causing adulterated drugs, misbranded drugs, or unapproved new drugs to be distributed from foreign sources to physicians in the U.S."              

Behe was previously employed by Ban Dune Marketing, Inc. (BDM) of La Jolla, California.  Behe’s co-defendant in this case, James Newcomb, was the owner, founder, and president of BDM.  Newcomb is set to be sentenced on July 6, 2012. 

BDMI and its employees have been the subject of several safety alerts and letters from FDA which can be found at www.FDA.gov, including “Another counterfeit cancer medicine found in the United States  – Illegal practice puts patients at risk” on April 3, 2012 and “Letters to Doctors about Risks of Purchasing Medications from Foreign or Unlicensed Suppliers” dated April 16, 2012.         

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