Florida Man Charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone for Prescription Drug Diversion Scheme

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, a three-count indictment was unsealed charging Devin Anthony Magarian with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and possessing oxycodone with intent to distribute.  Magarian is charged with orchestrating a years’ long conspiracy to commandeer physicians’ e-prescribing privileges in order to divert Oxycodone and other controlled substances into the illicit market. 

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Anne T. Donnelly, District Attorney of Nassau County, Frank A. Tarentino, III, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Patrick Ryder, Nassau County Police Commissioner, announced the indictment and charges.

“As alleged, Magarian led the conspiracy to pirate the digital prescription pads of physicians, putting thousands of lives at risk through this illicit diversion scheme,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.  “This Office will continue doing its part to find and hold responsible individuals at all levels who, motivated by greed, perpetuate the opioid and prescription drug epidemic with careless disregard for the safety of the communities in this district and nationwide.” 

United States Attorney Peace thanked the New York State Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for their significant contributions to the investigation.

“Devin Magarian was the primary facilitator of a complex narcotics conspiracy, coordinating drug-running operations in dozens of states across the county and maximizing profits for the illicit venture,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. “Tens of thousands of prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances were filled in Nassau County and beyond at this defendant’s direction using pirated e-prescribing credentials of unwitting doctors, putting our communities at risk. Magarian was an important cog in a much larger machine – one that we will dismantle piece by piece with our federal partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.”

“The indictment against Devin Anthony Magarian for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone through a diverted e-prescription scheme and distribute on the illicit market for the purpose of putting profits above public health is not only reckless and dangerous, but unconscionable” stated DEA New York Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino. “Trading in lives for profit is a dark path and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make sure those responsible face justice.”

As alleged in the indictment, in or around and between December 2022 and March 2024, the defendant was the key driver of a wide-ranging conspiracy in which he and his associates surreptitiously commandeered the e-prescribing credentials of doctors throughout the country, and then used those compromised accounts to issue and fill thousands of prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances, including Oxycodone and Promethazine with Codeine syrup, commonly known as Codeine, throughout Nassau County and nationwide.  These highly abused substances were then diverted into the illicit market, where the defendant often advertised them for sale to street-level resellers and buyers on his social media accounts and elsewhere. 

Over the course of this investigation, law enforcement identified dozens of medical practitioners who experienced a similar series of occurrences which ultimately resulted in the defendant and his associates issuing and filling thousands of illicit prescriptions in the names of countless fictitious patients. Many of the physicians experienced unusual activity on their cellphones, including being flooded with text messages in the days leading up to losing control of their cellphones and e-prescribing accounts.  Unbeknownst to the physicians, these text messages were related to efforts by the defendant and his associates to “clone” the SIM card of the doctors’ cellphone, thereby giving the defendant full access to the phone, and ultimately, the physicians’ e-prescribing credentials.

Once the credentials were compromised, the defendant advertised the prescriptions and controlled substances he had for sale on social media.  Using automated “bots,” the defendant would generate and transmit thousands of prescriptions using the compromised doctor’s e-prescribing credentials within a matter of hours.  These bots generated fictitious names, dates of birth, and addresses, and sent electronic prescriptions for controlled substances and narcotics to pharmacies in specific areas where the defendant’s associates were waiting. The defendant transmitted thousands of prescriptions, which when filled, resulted in thousands of pills of pharmaceutical grade narcotics being illicitly diverted and re-sold at a premium.  The defendant’s profits from the resale of those illegally procured narcotics ranged from $75,000 to $250,000 per month, in the form of payments which were primarily made via cryptocurrency, at the defendant’s request.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Toporovsky and Kaitlin McTague, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Rodriguez, of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Adam Bernard and Samantha Schroeder.

The Defendant:

DEVIN ANTHONY MAGARIAN
Age: 21
Kissimmee, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR- 178