Another Defendant Sentenced in Broward and Palm Beach Pill Mill Operation

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announced the sentencing of an additional defendant on charges stemming from Operation Oxy Alley, a coordinated investigation into pill mills in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced defendant Gino Marquez, 30, of Wellington, to 84 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Marquez pleaded guilty in February 2012 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Including Marquez, 27 defendants have been sentenced on an indictment unsealed on August 23, 2011 charging 32 defendants, including 13 doctors, in this pill mill scheme.

The indictment alleges that defendants Christopher and Jeffrey George, twin brothers, operated, managed, and financed four pain management clinics in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. According to the indictment and statements made in court, from 2008 to early 2010, these pill mills distributed approximately 20 million oxycodone pills and made more than $40 million from the illegal sales of controlled substances. Christopher and Jeffrey George are among those who have pleaded guilty. They were sentenced earlier this year.

The investigation and prosecution was the result of work by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The FBI, DEA, and IRS-CID were assisted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Hollywood Police Department, the Boca Raton Police Department, and the Davie Police Department. Coordination efforts also included cooperation by the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office, Delray Beach Police Department, Jupiter Police Department, West Palm Beach Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, Medley Police Department, Homestead Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, and Sunny Isles Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz, Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Strider Dickson.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.