Pharmacist Who Owned and Operated a Baltimore Pharmacy Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Distribution Conspiracy Charges Involving Fraudulent Prescriptions for Oxycodone and Alprazolam

Baltimore, Maryland – David Robinson, age 49, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a drug conspiracy involving the distribution of oxycodone and alprazolam.  Robinson, a licensed pharmacist who owned and operated the Frankford Family Pharmacy, admitted that he dispensed oxycodone and alprazolam outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

“Pharmacists who divert pharmaceutical drugs for illegal purposes betray the trust placed in them and further the tragic cycle of addiction and the epidemic of opioid overdose deaths,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Abuse of pharmaceutical drugs is one of our most significant drug enforcement challenges.” 

According to Robinson’s plea agreement, a confidential source advised law enforcement that the pharmacist at Frankford Family Pharmacy knowingly filled fraudulent prescriptions for alprazolam and oxycodone at the pharmacy.  During the DEA’s investigation, between January and July 2016, the confidential source made a number of controlled purchases from Robinson at the pharmacy, using blank prescriptions provided to the source by DEA.  Robinson knew that the prescriptions were fraudulent because he told the source what name to use on the prescription and what quantity of oxycodone tablets to write on the prescriptions.  Robinson also told the source to include non-controlled medications on the same prescriptions in order to evade law enforcement.  Between April 2015 and June 2017, Robinson fraudulently distributed approximately 12,330 units of alprazolam, with a street value of $2 per milligram, and 10,000 milligrams of oxycodone, with a street value of $1 per milligram.

DEA investigators also learned that during Robinson’s tenure as a pharmacist working the night shift at a pharmacy in Waldorf, Maryland, Robinson also filled fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone.  Robinson admitted that he wrote prescriptions using the names of prominent athletes provided to him as the purported patients.  Between September and December 2015, Robinson admitted that he dispensed at least 85,500 milligrams of oxycodone outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

Search warrants were obtained for Robinson’s residence, for the Frankford Family Pharmacy, for his vehicle, and for a safe deposit box rented by Robinson.  Law enforcement recovered $159,862 in cash from Robinson’s home; $46,927 in a briefcase, blank prescriptions, a prescription pad, and a loaded 9mm pistol from Robinson’s car; and $60,486 in cash, an AR-15 rifle with a magazine, several boxes of ammunition for the rifle, and records, invoices, and receipts from the pharmacy.  In addition, law enforcement recovered $25,041 in cash, $4,500 in gold coins, and $1,010 in silver coins from a safe deposit box.

Robinson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Robinson will be sentenced to 51 months in prison.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for February 25, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. 

In a separate case, licensed pharmacist Richard Daniel Hiller, age 64, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 24, 2018, to distributing oxycodone in exchange for sexual favors.  In that case, Hiller admitted that between January 2014 and February 2017, he filled fraudulent prescriptions, distributing approximately 20,500 15 milligram oxycodone pills.  Hiller faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison at his sentencing on November 15, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander.

The Robinson case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and Samika N. Boyd, who are prosecuting the case.