3 Houston-area men sentenced for selling drugs through fake prescriptions
Close-up of an opened prescription bottle, labelled as containing the opioid hydrocodone, as a number of its pills lie on a white surface, March 14, 2017. (Photo by Tom Kelley/Getty Images)
HOUSTON - A pharmacist, a pharmacy owner, and a drug dealer all from the Houston area were sentenced for selling prescription opioids - among other drugs, and laundering the money.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hassan Barnes, 56, a pharmacist formerly from Missouri City was sentenced Friday for "unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances."
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He, along with Clint Carr, 33, a pharmacy owner from Cypress, and Frasiel Hughey, 60, a supplier-level drug dealer from Houston, as well as four unnamed co-conspirators reportedly worked together to distribute more than 1.5 million dosage units of controlled substances, including 1.1 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills in a span of 18 months.
Court documents state a jury convicted Carr in March for drug and money laundering conspiracies. This came after evidence showed he owned three pharmacies with Barnes as the pharmacist-in-charge. His pharmacies brought in more than 5.5 million from the sale of controlled substances, with the cash proceeds structured to avoid reporting them.
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However, evidence during his trial showed Carr used the drug proceeds to "finance a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of luxury watches and the down payment on a $100,000 Ford pickup truck."
Barnes pleaded guilty in January to distributing and dispensing the drugs, while Hughley pleaded guilty in March to similar offenses including "conspiracy to distribute."
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A judge sentenced Barnes to 24 months in prison, while Carr and Hughley were sentenced to 20 years on June 24. Additionally, Carr was ordered to forfeit more than $700,000 for using his pharmacy as a front.
Four other co-conspirators pleaded guilty in connection with this case, two of whom are waiting for their sentence.