SAN DIEGO (CN) - A La Jolla man pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute adulterated drugs to doctors, including cancer drugs that should be, but were not, kept refrigerated, federal prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney's Offices in St. Louis and San Diego on Tuesday announced the guilty plea of James Newcomb, who admitted distributing adulterated prescription drugs to doctors, including to one in St. Louis.
Newcomb, who faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his May 25 sentencing, admitted that he shipped drugs with help from people in Canada and the United States, prosecutors said. He also agreed to forfeit $1.4 million that was seized during the investigation, and a Land Rover.
Newcomb offered cut rates to oncologists for his foreign-made drugs. Some were "cold chain" drugs, which must be kept refrigerated, but a nurse in the St. Louis doctor's office said the drugs arrived as a "gooey mess," the U.S. Attorney's Offices said.
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