Authorities Bust Pharmacy for Illegally Selling Oxycodone

Investigators say the manager of a Yonkers pharmacy was illegally selling oxycodone out of his store. Ji Yun Lee is accused of accepting prescriptions that he knew were fake. He would then allegedly sell people oxycodone if they would pay his inflated prices. If convicted of the charges, Lee could face up to 20 years in prison.

 “Our society is in the throes of its own opiates war and some pharmacies are serving more as pass-through opiate dens than as legitimate professional dispensers of dangerous drugs," said United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. "As alleged, Ji Yun exploited his access to highly addictive pain medication and functioned as a go-to prescription pill dispenser for those who were willing to pay his inflated prices."

Investigators say Lee was illegally selling oxycodone from 2011 up until this year. Lee is neither a pharmacist nor a physician. His pharmacy was selling twice the amount of oxycodone as other pharmacies in the same zip code, according to authorities.

"… Ji Yun Lee took advantage of his position to allegedly accept and fill fraudulent prescriptions in exchange for money, just like a street dealer who puts lives at risk throughout our community," said DEA Special Agent Brian Crowell.

Authorities say they were able to make the arrest with the help of two informants. Investigators would not give out the name of the pharmacy that Lee managed.