Drug Diverter Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

Arnesto Segredo of Miami, Florida, was sentenced on February 18, 2010, to 70 months in prison for conspiring to divert prescription drugs, according to a press release from US Attorney’s Office. Segredo was convicted in August 2009 of diverting drugs and diverting drugs in interstate commerce.

According to prosecutors, from 2000 through 2002, Segredo had unlicensed wholesale suppliers regularly ship him boxes of the human growth hormones Serostim and Nutropin AQ. Segredo operated the Miami-based prescription-drug wholesaler Life Extension Institute, from 2000-2001, which was not licensed to distribute prescription drugs in the state of Florida. He later ran another Miami drug-wholesaler company, Genendo Purchasing Organization, that was licensed in Florida in 2001.

Serostim is an FDA-approved injectable drug used for the treatment of AIDS-wasting syndrome, and Nutropin AQ is FDA-approved for treatment of growth hormone deficiency. According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, evidence showed that the counterfeit Nutropin AQ distributed by Segredo entered the drug-supply chain and caused bodily harm to a child that received the drug.

The Prescription Drug Marketing Act prevents prescription drug diversion and the distribution of counterfeit, stolen, or substandard drugs and requires that wholesalers be licensed by state authorities.