Former Owner Of Health PMO Serves Nearly Four Years In Prison For Illegal Distribution Of Drugs And Money Laundering

-Websites were used to dispense pharmaceutical drugs without prescriptions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The former owner of Health PMO was sentenced to time served, of 45 months in prison, and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution by Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson, III in U.S. Federal Court today, for conspiring to illegally distribute and dispense controlled substances, wire fraud, and conspiring to commit money laundering, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.  

Stacy Allen Taylor, age 47, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to the charges on October 22, 2014, in U.S. District Court.  Taylor admitted that between March of 2008 and March of 2009, he conspired and agreed with others to distribute and dispense prescription drugs, by setting up an internet pharmacy to dispense controlled substances to customers without valid prescriptions. Taylor used various web site addresses including www.RXvaluePharm.com to distribute and dispense hundreds of orders for prescription drugs, throughout the United States each day, generating sales of Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances for a profit that totaled $790,753.51.

“Many of these drugs had a high potential for abuse and dependence,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney John Kuhn. “Without a license to prescribe or dispense prescription drugs, Taylor was no more than a drug dealer with a website. We hope and expect today’s sentence will be a deterrent to those who might consider trying to conduct illegal pharmaceutical sales using the internet.”

According to court documents, customers were not required to provide prescriptions from a practitioner, licensed by law, to administer such drugs before dispensing the controlled prescription drugs. Instead, Taylor permitted customers to fill out forms or provide information to telemarketing sales agents, allowing customers to choose the type and quantity of controlled substances and other prescriptions they wished to purchase. Over time, Taylor approved every order for which a valid credit card was provided and unlawfully distributed hundreds of prescriptions drugs on a daily basis. At no time was Taylor licensed to practice medicine or pharmacy by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

As part of this scheme,  Taylor admitted that beginning in March 2008, and continuing until at least March 2009, he committed wire fraud. Taylor conspired with others to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce which involved the proceeds of unlawful activity, namely, the unlawful distribution and dispensing of, and conspiracy to distribute and dispense, controlled substances and other substances.  To accomplish this, Taylor and his co-conspirators sent wire transfers from a Health PMO Class Act Federal Credit Union account to an account at the Federal Bank of the Middle East, Ltd., Nicosia, Cypress.  These wire transfers were from the proceeds of selling and distributing controlled substances and other drugs to customers in the United States and other locations.

Further, Taylor admitted to knowingly engaging in a scheme to defraud investors of Health PMO beginning in June 2008. This scheme was used to obtain money and property by soliciting and receiving money from individuals by promising them stock in Health PMO. Taylor falsely represented and promised to provide investment interest (stock) in Health PMO. Instead, Taylor used the funds received for his personal benefit and gain.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lettricea Jefferson-Webb, and was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and the United State Postal Inspection Service.