On Long Island, prosecutors have revealed that a Florida man orchestrated a nationwide pharmacy scam involving the hacking of doctors’ phones to obtain thousands of fraudulent prescriptions.
Devin Magarian, 21, allegedly profited by reselling the unlawfully acquired prescription drugs for hundreds of dollars per pill, amassing tens of millions of dollars, as outlined in the criminal complaint against him.
Magarian entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Long Island last Friday, where investigators claimed they successfully dismantled the criminal network spanning at least eight states.
Anne Donnelly, the Nassau County district attorney, credited the collaborative efforts of her office, the Nassau County Police Department, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in putting an end to Magarian’s extensive and illicit scheme.
During a press conference held at her workplace on Friday morning, she stated, “It could be millions of pills that went out.”
Donnelly revealed that Magarian discovered a method to impersonate numerous doctors online. Allegedly, he hacked into the digital versions of doctors’ prescription pads, generating thousands of prescriptions in their names. In states such as Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, he successfully convinced pharmacies to dispense medications, making them believe the prescriptions were from legitimate patients.
Investigators found that the patients’ names and addresses provided were fictitious. Magarian also established a network of accomplices, referred to as runners, who were responsible for picking up bottles containing promethazine, codeine, and oxycodone.
Prosecutors emphasized the massive scale of the operation, noting that in a single weekend, Magarian managed to create 18,500 prescriptions, according to DA Donnelly.
The entire operation, valued at tens of millions of dollars, allegedly operated out of Magarian’s residence in Kissimmee, Florida. The breakthrough in the case occurred when a pharmacy on Long Island reported a suspicious prescription, Donnelly stated.
A pharmacist in Great Neck contacted the doctor’s office and received a message stating, ‘My e-prescription has been compromised. Do not fill any scripts,’ according to Donnelly.
The pharmacist, recognizing the Florida-originated prescription as unusual, alerted Nassau County police, initiating a year-long investigation that ultimately led to Magarian’s arrest this week.
Magarian’s attorney, Douglas Rankin, addressed the media outside the courtroom on Friday.
“It’s his first time being in trouble with the law,” the defense attorney stated, “and we are going to exonerate him.”
Magarian is confronted with 19 charges, with the most severe being the sale of a controlled substance, carrying a potential prison sentence of 8 to 20 years upon conviction.
District Attorney Donnelly, along with Frank Tarantino from the DEA, stated in Friday’s news conference that the investigation spans across the nation and anticipates additional charges against Magarian in the coming months.
