A Madera pharmacist is heading to prison for illegally trafficking hundreds of thousands of opiate pills.
U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert announced that Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone.
The big picture: Ntukogu dispensed over 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills that were all based on fraudulent prescriptions in exchange for cash.
- Ntukogu dispensed the pills from December 2014 through November 2018 on the fraudulent prescriptions that were delivered to him by co-conspirators and co-defendants Kelo White and Donald Pierre.
- The prescriptions came from over 10 physicians whose signatures were forged.
- Ntukogu required cash payments from White and Pierre and increased the price that he charged over time.
- White and Pierre illegally sold the pills in Tennessee and Texas, among other places.
- Ntukogu received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the scheme.
What we’re watching: White will be sentenced on Feb. 24, 2025, and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Flashback: Pierre was previously convicted and sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.
What they’re saying: “This defendant displayed a blatant disregard for public safety and the law,” Talbert said. “It took the effort of agents, investigators, undercover officers, and medical professionals to bring an end to this illicit prescription-writing racket. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue our pursuit of those who fuel the opioid epidemic for their own personal benefit.”
