New Jersey Woman Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Her Role in Stealing $7 Million in Charity HIV and Cancer Medication
Medicines Had Been Donated to be Used for Indigent Patients
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 20, 2013 |
TRENTON, NJ—A New Jersey woman was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for her role in defrauding a charity program out of more than $7 million in donated HIV and cancer medication, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Keisha Jackson, 48, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
A pharmaceutical company donated millions of dollars’ worth of FDA-approved prescription medicines—including HIV and cancer treatments—at no cost to qualified patients experiencing financial difficulties. Jackson was employed as a customer service representative at a corporation providing administrative support for the donated medicines program.
Jackson conspired with Lateefa McKenzie Body, 35, of Linden, New Jersey, and others who entered hundreds of fraudulent orders into the company’s system and had the medicines delivered to Jackson’s address and other addresses she controlled. The medicines were then resold, and Jackson received payment for accepting the shipments.
Jackson admitted she understood that the payments were coming from sale of the stolen medications and that hundreds of shipments came to her home.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cooper sentenced Jackson to serve three years of supervised release.
McKenzie Body was convicted in August 2013, following a jury trial, of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and nine counts of mail fraud. She awaits sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven and Unit Chief Jacob T. Elberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.