Two NECC RXs Convicted

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

BOSTON- Acting within less than two hours, a federal jury today found two pharmacists guilty of violations of federal drug laws when they worked for a drug compounding firm blamed for a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Convicted on a total of six felony counts were Kathy Chin and Michelle Thomas. Both worked for the now defunct New England Compounding Center. The two were charged with violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act when they issued drugs based on prescriptions for patients with clearly fake names.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns set August dates for their sentencing.
They were charged with placing mis-branded drugs in interstate commerce. Chin was convicted on four counts of misbranding with intent to defraud or deceive. While Thomas was convicted on two counts of the same charges.
The two were among 14 indicted following a two year probe of the fungal meningitis outbreak which took the lives of some 100 patients nationwide including at least 16 from Tennessee.
Only one of the 14 has been acquitted of all charges while others have been convicted or entered guilty pleas. They including Chin's husband Glenn, who is serving an eight year prison sentence.
The charges against Kathy Chin and Thomas were not for drugs that caused the outbreak but for other drugs compounded at NECC's Framingham, Mass. facilities.
Specifically they were charged in the compounding of drugs shipped to health providers in Nebraska and Georgia.
During final arguments before the jury began deliberations, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Strachan said the two were part of a massive fraud.
"It was fraud through and through," Strachan said. "It was NECC's business model."
She said the two distributed drugs with prescriptions made out to fake patients. Evidence presented to the jury included prescriptions with patient names including L.L. Bean and Filet O Fish.
Joan Griffin, Chin's lawyer, called the verdict "very disturbing" and said an appeal will be filed.
Both she and Michael Bourbeau, Thomas' lawyer, had argued that NECC's part owner and president Barry J. Cadden was the responsible party. Cadden is serving a nine year sentence in federal prison and he and Chin are facing multiple second degree murder charges in Michigan. They were convicted on racketeering and mail fraud charges in separate federal trials.
Five others affiliated with NECC or its sales arm were recentl convicted of related charges and are awaiting sentencing.
The jury verdict was delivered by only 11 of the original 12. One juror was dismissed after he disclosed that he had prior dealings with one of the prosecution witnesses, a criminal investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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