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Pharmacy owners deny knowledge of suspected illegal activity

 

08-Mar-2008: The owners of three San Diego pharmacies have suspended three employees who were arrested on suspicion of selling painkillers without prescriptions and say they will cooperate fully with federal investigators, their attorney said.

On Thursday, White Cross Drug Store in City Heights and Galloway Pharmacy in Logan Heights were raided by FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents following the unsealing of a federal indictment that accused employees of selling large quantities of the powerful pain relievers oxycodone and hydrocodone to people without a prescription.

Also implicated in the investigation was Park Boulevard Pharmacy, which also is accused of distributing the drugs to people without a prescription.

The three pharmacies are jointly owned by Fadi Atiya; his brother, Ramsey Atiya; and their uncle, Max Atiya, all of San Diego.

In a prepared statement released Friday, their attorney, Michael Lipman of San Diego, said the three owners had no knowledge of the suspected illegal activity.
Two pharmacy technicians at Galloway and the head pharmacist at White Cross were arrested. All three have been suspended, Lipman said.

Lipman said the three pharmacies have been owned by the Atiya family since 1995. All are still allowed to operate.

"The Atiya family was shocked by the accusations," Lipman said. "As the owners of one of California's largest privately held pharmacy groups, they have worked hard to ensure that their staff has always followed the law, and they are distressed that their trust in these employees may have been misplaced."

Lipman said all three pharmacies do extensive business in the county and throughout California.

"If the authorities determine laws were broken, then the Atiya family was a victim of these crimes," said Lipman, a partner at Coughlan, Semmer & Lipman.

Lipman said that sales of prescribed controlled substances are a small fraction of the three pharmacies' business.

"No business can fully protect itself from a dishonest employee," Lipman said. "The Atiya family are responsible business owners, and they are examining their control systems to make sure they have the best possible approach to preventing abuses."

Source: San Diego Union Tribune