TRENTON
-Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Stephen J.
Taylor announced that a Union County man
was sentenced to state prison today for
his role in a $2 million stolen prescription
drug scheme.
According to Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli, Pedro Diaz,
80, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to four
years in state prison by Superior Court
Judge Peter V. Ryan in Essex County. The
sentence was based on Diaz’s guilty
plea to fencing and conspiracy. The charges
were contained in a July 2007 state grand
jury indictment.
In pleading guilty on Oct.
30, Diaz admitted that he and Aiad Saman,
55, of Staten Island, NY, supplied stolen
prescriptions to Charles Jyamfi, 56, a licensed
pharmacist who ran his now-defunct pharmacy,
Ojah Pharmacy in East Orange, in exchange
for cash payments. Diaz admitted that he
knew Jyamfi was selling and dispensing these
prescriptions to the public. Diaz further
admitted that he profited from the illegal
transactions.
Saman and Jyamfi were both
charged in the state grand jury indictment.
Saman pleaded guilty on June 5, 2008 to
conspiracy and perjury, and was sentenced
on Aug. 25, 2008 to five years in state
prison.
Jyamfi was charged with
first-degree conspiracy to commit racketeering,
first-degree racketeering, first-degree
money laundering, second-degree conspiracy
to commit fencing, second-degree fencing,
and second-degree receiving stolen property.
The charges against Jyamfi are still pending.
There is an active bench warrant for Jyamfi,
as he failed to appear for his matter.
The indictment against Jyamfi
alleges that between August 2002 and October
2004, he allegedly purchased approximately
$2 million in stolen prescription drugs
from Diaz, Saman and others. Jyamfi allegedly
used the stolen drugs to stock his pharmacy.
He allegedly sold the stolen medications,
which were sometimes improperly packaged
and labeled, to the general public, including
persons covered by Medicaid.
Detective Sherry Stevens
and Deputy Attorney General Dennis Kwasnik
coordinated the investigation. Kwasnik prosecuted
the case and represented the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.
He also presented the Sacco and Caines case
to the Union County grand jury.
"The detection and
prosecution these offenses is a priority
for this office," said Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Dagli. “Not only
are fraudulent prescription claims a significant
drain on private insurance and public health
programs, but stolen medications are often
unpackaged and loose with no way to track
their expiration dates or integrity."
Acting
Fraud Prosecutor Dagli noted that some important
cases have started with anonymous tips.
People who are concerned about insurance
cheating and have information about a fraud
can report it anonymously by calling the
toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting the Web site www.njinsurancefraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
The Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor was established by the
Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act
of 1998. The office is the centralized state
agency that investigates and prosecutes
both civil and criminal insurance fraud,
as well as Medicaid fraud.
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