U. S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger | U.S. Department of Justice
Three men from the Twin Cities have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to obtain controlled substances through fraudulent means, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Court documents state that Oscar Becerra-Ruiz, 21, Jasper William Johnson, 19, and Rayjaun Keon Varner, 23, worked together to acquire promethazine with codeine fraudulently. From December 2022 until August 3, 2023, the trio reportedly used paid internet-based record searches to gather identifying information of registered physicians in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Johnson allegedly accessed the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Registrant Information Consolidated System (RICS) using this information. RICS is a government database intended to track physician registration and prevent the diversion of controlled substances.
The indictment claims that Johnson altered contact details in multiple physicians' RICS accounts to ones controlled by him and his co-conspirators. They then established customer accounts with online pharmaceutical wholesalers using the compromised data. The defendants allegedly placed numerous orders for controlled substances like promethazine with codeine using pre-paid debit cards and peer-to-peer payment accounts under the physicians' names.
Investigators have not found any evidence indicating that patient information was compromised during this scheme.
Becerra-Ruiz, Johnson, and Varner face charges of conspiracy and attempt to obtain controlled substances by fraud. Additionally, Johnson faces 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of accessing a protected computer in furtherance of fraud, and four counts of aggravated identity theft. The arraignment date for the defendants has yet to be scheduled.
The investigation is being led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with support from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren O. Roso and Allen A. Slaughter are handling prosecution duties.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
