NEW YORK – Eighteen people are facing charges for allegedly running a massive drug operation that advertised, produced, and sold millions of deadly counterfeit pills disguised as legitimate pharmaceuticals. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the counterfeit pills were purchased by tens of thousands of victims through fraudulent online pharmacies designed to appear legitimate.
Court documents allege one such website, Curecog.com, claimed to be a “US-based online pharma store” approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), offering “affordable medicines… manufactured by trusted brands.” In reality, William says Curecog was a front for the sale of dangerous controlled substances, including fentanyl.
The scheme was allegedly led by Francisco Alberto Lopez Reyes, known as “Frank,” who, along with 17 co-conspirators based in the United States, Dominican Republic, and India, are accused of manufacturing and distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine pills, resulting in numerous injuries and deaths.
Federal authorities have seized nine website domains used in the operation, four of which are named in the indictment.
“The proliferation of fake online pharmacies is fueling this nation’s fentanyl epidemic. As alleged, Francisco Lopez Reyes, a/k/a “Frank,” and his lieutenants have run a global network of these websites and aggressively marketed, manufactured, sold, and distributed millions of deadly fentanyl pills meant to mimic legitimate prescription drugs,” Williams said. “The victims of the scheme include people from all walks of life—people of all ages and occupations—from all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Germany, and Slovenia. At least nine victims who purchased counterfeit pills from the defendants died of narcotics poisoning, including a 45-year-old army veteran who thought she was purchasing real oxycodone.”