Office of the Attorney General: Staten Island Man Sentenced to State Prison for His Role in $2 Million Stolen Prescription Drug Scheme

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 25, 2008

Contact: Division of Criminal Justice
609-292-4791


TRENTON Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that a Staten Island man was sentenced to state prison today for his role in a $2 million stolen prescription drug scheme.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Aiad Saman, 53, of Staten Island, NY, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Peter V. Ryan in Essex County to serve to five years in state prison. Saman was sentenced pursuant to his June 5 guilty plea to perjury and conspiracy to commit the crimes of fencing and receiving stolen property. The charges were contained in a July 27, 2007 state grand jury indictment.

In pleading guilty, Saman, who formerly was licensed as a pharmacist in New Jersey, admitted that he brought more than $300,000 in stolen medication to the now-defunct Ojah Pharmacy in East Orange, and aided co-defendants Charles Jyamfi, 54, of West Orange, and Pedro Diaz, 78, of Elizabeth, in collecting, sorting and dispensing stolen medication from other sources. Jyamfi and Diaz were charged in the same July 27 indictment.

At the guilty plea hearing, Saman also admitted that he provided false testimony before the state grand jury which was investigating Ojah Pharmacy.

The indictment alleged that Jyamfi, a licensed New Jersey pharmacist, ran Ojah Pharmacy as a racketeer-influenced and corrupt organization, with assistance from Saman, Diaz and others. Between August 2002 and October 2004, Jyamfi allegedly purchased approximately $2 million in stolen prescription drugs from Saman, Diaz, and others. Jyamfi allegedly used the stolen drugs to stock his pharmacy. He allegedly sold the stolen medications, which were sometimes improperly packaged and labeled, to the general public, including persons covered by Medicaid.

In March 2006, Verona Boodram, 31, of Bloomfield, and Alpha Bangoura, 34, of Orange, were convicted at trial of health care claims fraud and two counts of Medicaid fraud in connection with the stolen drug scheme. Bangoura was sentenced to six years in state prison, while Boodram was sentenced to 5 ½ years in state prison and ordered to pay $21,500 in restitution.

In addition, Stephen Dwamena, 62, of Union, who was formerly a pharmacist at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth and University Hospital in Newark, pleaded guilty on Oct. 30, 2006 to a theft charge for stealing prescription drugs from his employers and selling them to Ojah Pharmacy. He was sentenced to serve three years of probation, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay $74,000 in restitution.

Gayford Yaw, 45, of Landing, who formerly worked as a pharmacy technician at Atlantic Health Systems/Morristown Hospital as well as at Ojah Pharmacy, also pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2006 to theft for stealing prescription drugs from Morristown Hospital and selling them to Ojah Pharmacy. He was sentenced to serve three years of probation, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay $13,468 in restitution.

The investigation was coordinated by Detective Jon Powers and Deputy Attorney General Riza Dagli of the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Medicaid Auditor Cleair Budhu assisted with the investigation. Dagli represented the state at the sentencing and at the previous trials in this investigation.

The charges agains Jyamfi and Diaz are pending trial.

"Abuse of the Medicaid program and insurance fraud by persons who hold professional licenses are particularly disturbing crimes," said Prosecutor Brown. "Not only do such Medicaid fraud schemes involve theft of tax dollars, they also represent a theft from a program designed to assist persons who cannot afford health insurance or health care services. Such cases are a priority for the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor."

Prosecutor Brown noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web site http://www.njinsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit an award to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.