BUFFALO, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Luis Diaz, 51, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances through fraud, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that between September 2014 and April 2015, co-defendant Brandon Coburn, a licensed nurse practitioner who was legally authorized to prescribe controlled substances, provided prescriptions that were not issued for legitimate medical purposes to Diaz and nine others. Diaz and the others filled the prescriptions, and then sold the drugs, which included fentanyl, oxycodone, oxymorphone, and amphetamine, on the street in the Buffalo area. Vazquez filled a total of 13 prescriptions.
To date, eight defendants charged in this investigation have been convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2017, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
