Judge Sets Strict Limit on Outbreak Restitution

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Stating that federal law leaves him no choice, a federal judge has set strict limits on the amount of restitution a convicted former pharmacist can be forced to pay.
In a nine-page ruling issued today U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns sitting in Boston, Mass. rejected a request by federal prosecutors to order Glenn Chin to pay some $82 million which could have gone to hundreds of  patients who were sickened by drugs produced under Chin's supervision at the New England Compounding Center..
Though he put off setting an exact amount of restitution, Stearns wrote that "reality casts a cold light" on the government's $82 million request.
Chin was convicted on racketeering and mail fraud charges for his role in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak which took the lives of 76 patients in addition to the more than 700 who were sickened.
In his decision Stearns said the federal law sets a strict definition on those that can be considered victims under federal law.
"Under the law, as I must apply it, the direct victims of the mail fraud crimes were the medical facilities who purchased drugs from NECC," Stearns wrote.
Adding that he did not in any way suggest that the patients injected with NECC's tainted drugs were not victims of the terrible tragedy spawned by NECC, Stearns wrote that NECC "made no representations to end users and patients."
The judge also expressed concern for Chin stating that he and his family were destitute and the one time supervising pharmacist already has been hit with a $175,000 forfeiture order.
In a footnote to his decision, Stearns said that while it was not a factor in his decision, the patients/victims had a more realistic chance of obtaining compensation from the settlement of NECC's bankruptcy and  civil suits against health providers.
Stearns stated that setting the final amount of restitution cannot be computed until the remaining NECC defendants go to trial, now set for Oct. 2.
In the ruling Stearns said his decision on Chin would not be binding on co-defendant Barry Cadden, but he agreed with prosecutors that some legal issues should be decided now.
Chin is serving an eight-year sentence at a minimum security federal prison in central Pennsylvania while Cadden is serving a nine-year sentence in western Pennsylvania.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com