Three men from the Twin Cities have been indicted on charges related to a conspiracy to obtain controlled substances through fraudulent means, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Court documents reveal that Oscar Becerra-Ruiz, 21, Jasper William Johnson, 19, and Rayjaun Keon Varner, 23, allegedly conspired to acquire promethazine with codeine illegally. The indictment claims that between December 2022 and August 3, 2023, the defendants used internet-based record searches to gather identifying information of registered physicians in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This information was reportedly used by Johnson to access the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Registrant Information Consolidated System (RICS), which is intended to prevent the diversion of controlled substances.
The indictment further alleges that Johnson altered contact details within RICS accounts of multiple physicians to ones controlled by him and his co-conspirators. Using this compromised information, they allegedly established physician customer accounts with online pharmaceutical wholesalers. The defendants are accused of using pre-paid debit cards and peer-to-peer payment accounts in the names of these physicians to place orders for controlled substances like promethazine with codeine.
Investigations so far have not found any evidence suggesting patient data was compromised by the defendants.
Becerra-Ruiz, Johnson, and Varner face charges of conspiracy and attempt to obtain controlled substances fraudulently. Additionally, Johnson faces 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts related to accessing a protected computer for fraud purposes, and four counts of aggravated identity theft. Their arraignment will occur at a later date.
The investigation is being conducted 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 leading the prosecution.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.