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Illegal Online Pharmacy Relied on Accountants to Launder Money, Prosecutors Say
By Matt Squire
printAn Internet pharmacy racketeering operation that generated more than $126 million illustrates how accounting firms and other so-called gatekeepers can help money launderers, banking compliance professionals say. A federal grand jury in San Diego on July 27 indicted 18 people with 313 counts of racketeering, dispensing of controlled substances, money laundering and other crimes related to the operation of the illegal Web-based prescription drug ring. From August 2004 to June 2006, the company, San Jose, Costa Rica-based Affpower, sold pharmaceuticals to hundreds of thousands of customers using illegal prescriptions, according to the indictment. Customers filled out health questionnaires on one...
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