Canadian Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Online Cancer Drug Scam

This week, Hazim Gaber, 22, of Edmonton, Canada, was sentenced in Phoenix by U.S. District Court to 33 months in prison for selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the Internet. He was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine, as well as $53,724 in restitution, and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Garber admitted to selling counterfeit experimental cancer drug sodium dichloroacetate, also known as DCA, to at least 65 victims in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands between October and November 2007.

DCA is a highly sought cancer drug for its reputed ability to shrink tumors in lung cancer, breast cancer and brain cancer. However, the drug is experimental and not yet approved for use in either the United States or Canada.

The white powdery substance that Garber supplied to the victims was later determined through laboratory tests to contain starch, dextrin, dextrose or lactose, and contained no DCA. The packages also contained a fraudulent certificate of analysis from a fictitious laboratory and instructions on how to dilute and ingest the bogus DCA.

The sentencing is part of a larger department-wide effort led by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to combat the growing problem of IP violations and to protect the health of American consumers.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Thomas S. Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Sexton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Significant assistance has been provided by the Edmonton Police Service, the Alberta Justice Office of Special Prosecutions-Edmonton, the Competition Bureau of Canada, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission and the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in this case. The case was investigated by the Phoenix FBI Cyber Squad.

XStream Systems applauds the IP Task Force and the FBI Cyber Squad for bringing this criminal to justice and cautions consumers against buying medications from questionable sources.

This story appears to be a classic case of a relatively unsophisticated individual taking advantage of and preying on the frantic needs of the sick with bogus drugs being peddled over the internet. His global scheme was aided by the relative anonymity and world wide access of the Internet which allowed him to market and sell his fakes to the desperately ill.

Unfortunately this tale is not an isolated occurrence but is something that happens all over the world on a daily basis. This appalling crime is being perpetrated by far more sophisticated and nefarious criminals who take advantage of people’s frantic need for healthcare and kill millions each year.

For more information visit:

US. Justice Department at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/August/10-crm-958.html

“Canadian Man Charged in Online Cancer Drug Scam” at SecurePharmachain Blog