Division of Consumer Affairs Press Release

State Sues Mercer County Business
Offering Canadian Prescription Drugs Over the Internet

NEWARK - The State Attorney General's Office and Division of Consumer Affairs has filed suit against a Mercer County company and its operator for selling prescription drugs from Canada to U.S. residents in violation of state and federal laws and regulations.

The state has obtained a preliminary injunction that prevents Karen Azarchi of Princeton Junction and her business, Medications4Less, from filling or refilling orders for prescription drugs. The business is located in Princeton Junction.

Undercover investigators from the Division were able to order and receive anti-depressant drugs through Medications4Less even though:

one prescription was written by a fictitious physician who was listed on the Division's public internet database as having a suspended license;
another prescription was written by a fictitious physician who did not even appear on the Division's public database of physicians on the internet; and
a single patient successfully ordered two drugs, Parnate and Prozac, that are known to cause dangerous, sometimes fatal, interactions, on prescriptions written by two different fictitious doctors.

Additionally, Mediciations4Less filled a prescription for an oral contraceptive written by a fictitious dentist with an expired license. The contraceptive, with no known usage in the dental field, was provided to the undercover investigator posing as a patient.

"Our laws regulating the sale and distribution of prescription drugs exist to protect the public health and safety," Attorney General Stuart Rabner said. "The defendants eliminated these safeguards through their alleged actions. Major red flags that should have stopped orders from being filled were either ignored or disregarded by the defendants, at great risk to consumers in our state."

The state's six-count complaint, filed in State Superior Court in Trenton , alleges that the defendants engaged in the practice of pharmacy without a license and violated the state's Consumer Fraud Act by committing unconscionable commercial practices and by making false promises and misrepresentations. Federal law prohibits the importation of prescription drugs from abroad.

The undercover investigators also received incorrect amounts of anti-depressant prescription drugs, with more pills than prescribed being sent.

"These defendants showed a staggering disregard for patient safety and the laws of this state in filling orders for powerful medications," Acting Consumer Affairs Director Stephen B. Nolan said. "The relationship between pharmacist and patient is an important part of insuring that prescription drugs are not abused. This case highlights some of the dangers of bypassing that professional advice."

The E-Commerce Investigative Unit within Consumer Affairs conducted the undercover purchases and overall investigation. Deputy Attorney General David Puteska is representing the state in this matter.