VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The former owner and operator of a Volusia County pharmacy was sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking prescription drugs, according to a news release from Florida Attorney General Ashley Mood’s office.
Prosecutors said Ekaette Isemin owned and operated Care Point Pharmacy in Ormond Beach and filled prescriptions, including opioids, with minimal-to-no confirmation from the prescribing doctor.
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According to the investigation, Isemin illegally filled prescriptions of various opioids from Dec. 2016 through March 2018.
The Florida Department of Health suspended Isemin’s license in 2018, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found the pharmacy continuing to run under the licensure suspension in 2019. The prescriptions being filled included alprazolam, diazepam, ketamine, testosterone and tramadol—many of which can be dangerous if used while not prescribed, according to the release.
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In January, a Volusia County jury convicted Isemin on eight felony charges related to the trafficking of hydromorphone. Judge Elizabeth A. Blackburn sentenced Isemin to 25 years in prison and a more than $150,000 fine.
“We secured a long prison sentence for a pharmacist responsible for flooding Florida streets with prescription painkillers and other controlled substances with minimal or sometimes no confirmation from the prescribing doctor. While she used her profession in an attempt to conceal her crimes, my statewide prosecutors proved to the court that her true work was that of a common drug dealer,” Moody said.
According to the release, a separate and additional plea trial is set for Feb. 21 for the sale and delivery of diazepam, ketamine and testosterone.
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