Michigan Pharmacist Convicted of Drug Charges Gets 8 Years in Prison

The former owner and operator of a pharmacy in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, was convicted by a federal jury on 26 charges related to the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. The pharmacist, Hasna Bashir Iwas, was accused of working with a local physician, Otis Crawford. Crawford was arrested and charged with unlawfully writing prescriptions for controlled substances. Crawford pleaded guilty to the charges but died prior to sentencing.

Pharmacist Iwas was charged with crimes taking place between 2013 and 2018 when she filled forged prescriptions for controlled substances written by Crawford and others. The case went to trial before a federal jury, who were presented with video evidence of Iwas distributing controlled substances in unmarked bottles without required labeling. Iwas would retain and shred the pharmacy labels so the pills could not be traced back to her pharmacy when they were sold on the street.

Iwas filled 1,291 forged prescriptions in the names of over 50 different ‘patients’ and received over $780,000 in cash in return. At trial, Iwas claimed that she required individual patients to be present at the pharmacy when the forged prescriptions were filled, but evidence showed that several of these ‘patients’ were dead, in prison, or had never been in the pharmacy at all. A pharmacy audit revealed that over 70,000 doses of 30 mg Oxycodone and over 36,000 doses of 2 mg Xanax were purchased and delivered but were not dispensed under any prescription, yet none of the controlled substances were in the pharmacy.

At the conclusion of the trial, Iwas was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and 25 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances. Following the conviction, the pharmacist was remanded into custody until sentencing. In March 2024, Iwas was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $781,546–the proceeds of her criminal activity.

“Medical professionals, and others engaged in the delivery of healthcare services, who exploit opioid addiction and facilitate the diversion of highly addictive medication for financial gain, undermine critical efforts to suppress and eliminate the opioid crisis throughout the country,” said Mario M. Pinto, special agent in charge with the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, in a statement.

References

Grosse Pointe Park pharmacist convicted on drug charges. News release. US Attorney’s Office (Eastern District, Michigan). Published November 6, 2024. Accessed April 4, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/grosse-pointe-park-pharmacist-convicted-drug-charges

New Baltimore pharmacist sentenced to over 8 years in prison for filling fake prescriptions. News release. US Attorney’s Office (Eastern District, Michigan). Published March 14, 2024. Accessed April 4, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/new-baltimore-pharmacist-sentenced-over-8-years-prison-filling-fake-prescriptions