A man from Florida was given a prison sentence today, lasting four years and three months, for his involvement in a nationwide scheme to unlawfully distribute HIV drugs that were tampered with, amounting to a total value of at least $16.7 million. These adulterated drugs were then unknowingly given to patients across the country.

According to official court documents, Armando Herrera, aged 43 and residing in Miami, alongside his accomplices, established multiple companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California. These companies were used as a front to sell and distribute prescription drugs that had been tampered with, with a focus on HIV medications. To deceive wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers, Herrera and his partners falsified documentation to make it seem as though the drugs had been obtained legally, when in reality, they were not. The pharmaceutical suppliers then sold these adulterated drugs to pharmacies, which subsequently dispensed them to unsuspecting patients. During the investigation process, law enforcement agents confiscated over $1.5 million worth of adulterated prescription drugs from Herrera’s possession. This included more than 16,000 tablets of HIV medication that were both adulterated and misbranded.

Herrera entered a guilty plea on September 25th for a charge of conspiring to introduce drugs that were adulterated and misbranded into the flow of interstate commerce.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Mahmood of the Miami Regional Office at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Atlanta Region at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the Criminal Investigative Division at the FBI, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the Miami Field Office at the FBI.

The investigation into this case was carried out by HHS-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and the FBI.

The case was handled by Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski from the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division. Asset forfeiture was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx P. Calderón from the Southern District of Florida.