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Press Release

Local Police Departments Receive Funds From Dismantled Internet Pharmacy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

 PLANO, Texas – The federal government provided nearly $1 million in forfeiture proceeds to local police departments for their assistance in dismantling a wide-scale Internet-based pharmacy, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

                U.S. Attorney Bales presented checks totaling $897,352.26 to the following agencies at a ceremony on Sep. 10, 2013, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

Rowlett Police Department                         $597,142.74
Duncanville Police Department    139,702.37
Mesquite Police Department                       102,786.40
Irving Police Department                                  25,118.07
Dallas Police Department                                 22,454.05
Texas Joint Counterdrug Task Force            10,148.63

The Alton Bay, New Hampshire Police Department also received $27,812.74 in forfeiture proceeds from this case. 

The forfeiture funds are the result of the investigation and conviction of New Yorker David Allen Vogel.  In the summer of 2010, Vogel was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Texas of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering.  On Jan. 7, 2011, Vogel was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a money judgment in the amount of $24,743,000 and forfeiture of $4,376,471.39, which had already been seized from six separate bank accounts.  These funds represent the final distribution of equitable sharing funds in this case.  In addition to the funds noted above, these agencies have already received significant additional forfeiture funds in this case.

Vogel, the owner and operator of Madison Pain Clinic, conspired with others to operate an Internet-based pharmacy through which they distributed millions of hydrocodone pills and other controlled substances without a valid prescription.  Vogel used proceeds from the illegal enterprise to purchase a multi-million dollar condominium in Trump Towers in New York City and rare coins, including a $36,000 penny.  Vogel’s co-defendants were also convicted and received federal prison sentences.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Stevan Buys, Maureen Smith and Kevin Collins. 


Updated March 12, 2015