Three Men Indicted On Charges Of Stealing Drugs From Walter Reed And Fort Belvoir Hospitals

Greenbelt, Maryland - A federal grand jury has indicted Issa Wasco Koroma, age 61, of Springdale, Maryland; Rodger George Gurdon, age 42, of Waldorf, Maryland; and Daniel Mark Wilkerson, age 39, of Waldorf, Maryland on charges arising from a conspiracy to steal prescription drugs from two federal military hospitals. The indictment was returned yesterday.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Antoinette V. Henry of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.

“Protecting the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain is an FDA priority,” said SAIC Antoinette V. Henry. “The integrity of the drug supply is safeguarded by protections imposed at every level of a drug's distribution. Once drugs are removed from this closed system, there can be no guarantee that the product is safe, effective or even that it is what it purports to be. This could threaten the health of future patients who rely on these drugs.”

The five count indictment alleges that Koroma and Gurdon were pharmacy technicians at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, respectively, where they had access to medications stored at the hospitals’ pharmacies. From January to June 2013, Koroma stole Norditropin and Botox from Walter Reed, which he sold to Gurdon. Gurdon also stole Norditropin from Fort Belvoir. Gurdon sold these stolen prescription drugs to Wilkerson.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $1.3 million, the value of drugs stolen from the pharmacies.

The defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy. Koroma also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each of four counts of theft of medical products. Wilkerson and Koroma are scheduled for their initial appearance in federal court in Greenbelt on September 20, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. Gurdon’s initial appearance has not been scheduled.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DCIS and FDA-OCI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Paul Nitze and Assistant United States Attorney Mara Zusman Greenberg, who are prosecuting the case.