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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:
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one prescription was written by a fictitious
physician who was listed on the Division’s
public internet database as having a suspended
license;
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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
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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.
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