A Lebanese and Italian national, Alessandro Sabbagh, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier in London, Kentucky, to 78 months in prison for conspiracy to sell counterfeit drugs and knowingly causing the sale of a counterfeit drug.
According to a plea agreement, from January 2017 to October 2021, Sabbagh conspired with others to manufacture and sell counterfeit alprazolam pills. These counterfeit pills were made to replicate actual alprazolam pills through unauthorized stamping with manufacturer imprints. The drugs used had no accepted medical use in the United States. Sabbagh and collaborators sold these counterfeit drugs across the United States through darknet marketplaces, receiving payment in cryptocurrencies. He managed multiple vendor accounts and oversaw sales and order distribution. The counterfeit drugs trafficked were valued at over $25 million.
Federal law mandates Sabbagh serve 85 percent of his sentence. After release, he will be under U.S. Probation Office supervision for three years. He must also forfeit seized cryptocurrency to the DEA and agreed to a $5,055,377 forfeiture money judgment, representing his proceeds from the scheme.
The sentencing announcement was made by Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Jim Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Karen Wingerd of IRS-Criminal Investigations Cincinnati Field Division, Quincy Barnett of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Chief Jeff Couch of the Manchester Police Department.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, IRS, FBI, and Manchester Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosenberg prosecuting.
