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The operators of the Global Compounding Pharmacy LLC located in West Los Angeles have been found guilty of multiple counts of federal drug trafficking, money laundering and tax fraud charges in a jury verdict delivered in United States District Court in Los Angeles on January 23, 2017. The pharmacy operated as a front for the black market distribution of bulk quantities of prescription narcotic painkillers and the importation of anabolic steroids.
Global Compounding Pharmacy was owned and operated by IFBB pro bodybuilder Berry Kabov and his younger brother Dalibor “Dabo” Kabov. The Kabovs started the pharmacy with pharmacist Michael Lowe, whose DEA license was used to acquire large quantities of pharmaceuticals from drug wholesalers, in early 2012. Lowe ultimately became a cooperating witness for the prosecution.
While the Kabovs were convicted of the illegal importation of anabolic steroids, it was their black market dealing of large quantities of prescription narcotic painkillers that led to their targeting by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“These individuals engaged in one of the most egregious, fraudulent acts we’ve seen on the part of a DEA registrant. They completely exploited the system to acquire dangerous and addictive prescription drugs by legal means with the primary intent of selling them on the black market,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. “This conviction should serve as a warning to others so inclined to abuse the system. In the midst of a nation-wide opioid epidemic that is taking 90 lives a day, we’re leveraging all of our resources to bring illicit prescription drug traffickers like these to justice.”
The Kabov brothers used their “legitimate” business registration and DEA license to purchase massive quantities of oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) from pharmaceutical drug wholesalers between June 2012 and January 2014. In fact, Global Compounding Pharmacy was the largest single purchaser of oxycodone in the greater Los Angeles in 2014. It purchased three times as many oxycodone pills as the second-largest pharmacy in Los Angeles.
In addition, the Kabovs imported raw anabolic steroid powder from Chinese chemical distributors in the Hubei Province of China until May 2015. Global Compounding Pharmacy imported several hundred grams of testosterone, oxandrolone (Anavar) and nandrolone decanoate (Deca Durabolin) powder.
The DEA started investigating Global Compounding Pharmacy when police busted an Ohio drug dealer in 2012. The drug dealer told police that he received 2000 to 3000 oxycodone pills every week from Berry Kabov. The drug dealer became a cooperating witness who secretly recorded phone conversations and participated in coordinated drug buys. The Kabovs were caught on tape bragging about the sale of oxycodone at $50 per pill in New York.
DEA surveillance of the Global Compound Pharmacy storefront revealed that it probably didn’t have any walk-in clients. All of the clients were out of state customers and many of them were identity theft victims who never received the drugs.
A California Board of Pharmacy (CBP) investigation determined that the pharmacy suspiciously sold almost exclusively narcotic painkillers and steroids and very few other drugs. In January 2014, CBP concluded that “Global Compounding is not a legitimate pharmacy and in fact is a façade for a drug trafficking operation.”
Global Compounding Pharmacy engaged in a mostly cash business in which drug dealers sent large payments of several thousand dollars via “cash in mail” or deposited the cash into the local bank branch for accounts controlled by the Kabovs. The Kabovs attempted to launder over $1.5 million in cash via structured cash deposits designed to avoid federal reporting requirements. They also significantly under-reported their income when filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“These defendants used their pharmacy as a front for drug dealing,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker, “and they used multiple bank accounts to conceal their illicit proceeds… In addition to operating as de facto drug dealers, these defendants cheated the U.S. tax system by failing to report approximately $1.5 million in income while living a life of luxury.”
The Kabov brothers are scheduled to appear in court for sentencing by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee on March 29, 2017. Berry Kabov and Dalibor Kabov face a maximum sentence of 309 years and 315 years imprisonment, respectively.
Global Compounding Pharmacy was owned and operated by IFBB pro bodybuilder Berry Kabov and his younger brother Dalibor “Dabo” Kabov. The Kabovs started the pharmacy with pharmacist Michael Lowe, whose DEA license was used to acquire large quantities of pharmaceuticals from drug wholesalers, in early 2012. Lowe ultimately became a cooperating witness for the prosecution.
While the Kabovs were convicted of the illegal importation of anabolic steroids, it was their black market dealing of large quantities of prescription narcotic painkillers that led to their targeting by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“These individuals engaged in one of the most egregious, fraudulent acts we’ve seen on the part of a DEA registrant. They completely exploited the system to acquire dangerous and addictive prescription drugs by legal means with the primary intent of selling them on the black market,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. “This conviction should serve as a warning to others so inclined to abuse the system. In the midst of a nation-wide opioid epidemic that is taking 90 lives a day, we’re leveraging all of our resources to bring illicit prescription drug traffickers like these to justice.”
The Kabov brothers used their “legitimate” business registration and DEA license to purchase massive quantities of oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) from pharmaceutical drug wholesalers between June 2012 and January 2014. In fact, Global Compounding Pharmacy was the largest single purchaser of oxycodone in the greater Los Angeles in 2014. It purchased three times as many oxycodone pills as the second-largest pharmacy in Los Angeles.
In addition, the Kabovs imported raw anabolic steroid powder from Chinese chemical distributors in the Hubei Province of China until May 2015. Global Compounding Pharmacy imported several hundred grams of testosterone, oxandrolone (Anavar) and nandrolone decanoate (Deca Durabolin) powder.
The DEA started investigating Global Compounding Pharmacy when police busted an Ohio drug dealer in 2012. The drug dealer told police that he received 2000 to 3000 oxycodone pills every week from Berry Kabov. The drug dealer became a cooperating witness who secretly recorded phone conversations and participated in coordinated drug buys. The Kabovs were caught on tape bragging about the sale of oxycodone at $50 per pill in New York.
DEA surveillance of the Global Compound Pharmacy storefront revealed that it probably didn’t have any walk-in clients. All of the clients were out of state customers and many of them were identity theft victims who never received the drugs.
A California Board of Pharmacy (CBP) investigation determined that the pharmacy suspiciously sold almost exclusively narcotic painkillers and steroids and very few other drugs. In January 2014, CBP concluded that “Global Compounding is not a legitimate pharmacy and in fact is a façade for a drug trafficking operation.”
Global Compounding Pharmacy engaged in a mostly cash business in which drug dealers sent large payments of several thousand dollars via “cash in mail” or deposited the cash into the local bank branch for accounts controlled by the Kabovs. The Kabovs attempted to launder over $1.5 million in cash via structured cash deposits designed to avoid federal reporting requirements. They also significantly under-reported their income when filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“These defendants used their pharmacy as a front for drug dealing,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker, “and they used multiple bank accounts to conceal their illicit proceeds… In addition to operating as de facto drug dealers, these defendants cheated the U.S. tax system by failing to report approximately $1.5 million in income while living a life of luxury.”
The Kabov brothers are scheduled to appear in court for sentencing by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee on March 29, 2017. Berry Kabov and Dalibor Kabov face a maximum sentence of 309 years and 315 years imprisonment, respectively.