Federal prosecutors have indicted a New Jersey compounding pharmacy and top company officials on 37 charges, including wire fraud and violations of federal drug safety laws.
According to the announcement from the Eastern District of New York U.S. attorney’s office, Tinton Falls-based Med Prep Consulting, along with owner Gerald Tighe and lead pharmacist Stephen Kalinoski, introduced adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and health care providers.
The indictment notes that Med Prep distributed intravenous drugs containing visible mold in 2013, which resulted in the temporary closing of the facility and a national recall.
U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch — whose nomination as U.S. attorney general was approved by a Senate committee on Thursday — announced the indictment along with FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.
“As detailed in the indictment, Med Prep and its two most senior executives engaged in a disturbing pattern of dangerous practices in order to save money and line their pockets,” Lynch said. “Instead of working to extend and enhance human lives, the defendants illegally pursued corporate profits while putting at risk the health and safety of vulnerable patients suffering from disease.”
Tighe and Kalinoski could face decades in prison if convicted on all counts.