Photo of courthouse by Carol Highsmith/Library of Congress, photo of pills by Grumpy-Puddin/Flickr, collage by New Times
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A prolific pill peddler is facing up to 20 years in prison on each count after a federal jury convicted her of using her Pembroke Pines pharmacy to sell oxycodone to patients who didn’t need it — often at roughly 10 times the typical price, according to prosecutors.
Tampa-based pharmacist Olushola Yusuf, 60, used pharmacies in Margate and Pembroke Pines to dispense at least 335,351 30-milligram oxycodone pills to customers without a legitimate medical need for the drugs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). While DOJ officials haven’t released information about potential victims in this case, the agency says the scheme illegally distributed hundreds of thousands of high-dose opioid pills across South Florida. DOJ officials didn’t respond to New Times’ questions.
“Pharmacists occupy a position of public trust and serve as a critical safeguard against the diversion of controlled substances,” DEA spokesman Matthew W. Allen said in a statement. “By dispensing hundreds of thousands of oxycodone pills to virtually anyone willing to pay inflated cash prices, the defendant abandoned that responsibility, exploited addiction, and endangered lives for personal profit. This conviction reinforces DEA’s commitment to the American people: no one is above the law when they violate the public’s trust and contribute to the unlawful distribution of dangerous drugs.”
According to information from the DOJ, Yusuf owned and operated two pharmacies: Boots LLC d/b/a Striderite (Boots) in Margate, and Chans Pharmacy Plus, Inc. (Chans) in Pembroke Pines.
“Customers drove long distances across the state of Florida to have Yusuf fill prescriptions that they could not get filled at any other pharmacy. Some customers paid as much as $1,000 a month in cash to Yusuf for the drugs,” according to the DOJ.
Some customers were even drug dealers, “who picked up oxycodone pills purportedly on behalf of dozens of patients at a time who were not present,” according to the DOJ.
According to trial testimony, Yusuf kept the doors locked during business hours and directed staff to admit only certain customers. She repeatedly dispensed oxycodone this way despite warnings from her own employees and the DEA about the dangers of her pharmacy operations, according to the DOJ.
“The defendant abused the public trust by using her pharmacies to unlawfully distribute deadly opioids,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said in a statement. “This conviction sends an unmistakable message: whether you deal drugs on a street corner or from behind a pharmacy counter, the Fraud Division will hold you fully accountable under the law.”
Yusuf is scheduled to be sentenced on October 14.
