Michigan Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Import and Sell Illegal Pharmaceuticals

Strategic Insights -

A Michigan man, Donald Nchamukong, was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals, including opioids, and to fund the operation of the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan. Nchamukong, 37, was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. The scheme involved using shell companies and call centers in India to distribute drugs to persons in the United States, including in Massachusetts.

Key Takeaways:

  • Donald Nchamukong, 37, was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, committing loan fraud, and distributing controlled substances.
  • Nchamukong used shell companies, including a purported dietary supplements company and an auto parts supplier, to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol.
  • The scheme involved using call centers in India to distribute drugs to persons in the United States, including in Massachusetts, and fraudulently obtaining a $200,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan to fund the operation.
  • Nchamukong's co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the online drug distribution scheme and related money laundering.
  • The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations were involved in the investigation and prosecution of the case.
  • Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil prosecuted the case, and Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in New York, the Small Business Administration, and the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Statistics:

  • Nchamukong was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.
  • Over 2 years (2019-2022), Nchamukong and co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, conspired to distribute drugs to persons in the United States over the internet and using call centers in India.
  • The scheme involved the distribution of the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol, and other controlled substances.
  • Nchamukong used shell companies to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including tramadol.
  • Nchamukong and Kalita received shipments of tramadol from India and reshipped the drug to customers across the United States, including in Massachusetts.

Sources:

  • "US FBI BOSTON -- A Michigan man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a conspiracy to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals..."
  • "On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud."
  • "The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts."
  • "For more information on the department's response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud."