DETROIT (WWJ) — A Royal Oak doctor is facing federal charges for allegedly running a multi-million-dollar scheme to illegally sell and divert expensive prescription cancer drugs.
U.S. Attorney Dan Ison’s office announced Thursday 51-year-old Dr. Naveed Aslam of West Bloomfield has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to illegally sell or trade prescription drugs and 10 counts of illegally selling or trading prescription drugs.
From early 2019 through August 2023, the feds say Aslam, a licensed physician, worked with others to buy and sell expensive cancer drugs for profit and “with the intent to defraud and mislead.”
Ison’s office says the others who worked with Aslam would identify customers interested in buying prescription cancer drugs, then tell Aslam what drugs the customers had requested. Aslam then used his access to certain cancer drugs through his medical practice — Somerset Hematology and Oncology, P.C. on 13 Mile in Royal Oak — to order and purchase the cancer drugs from his supplier.
He then sold the cancer drugs to and through the other individuals’ company to the eventual customer, according to the attorney’s office.
Aslam allegedly acquired and sold more than $17 million in prescription cancer drugs, and personally profited more than $2.5 million.
“The safety and integrity of our country’s prescription drug supply lines – particularly for cancer drugs – is an important part of our healthcare system,” Ison said, per a press release. “As alleged, Dr. Aslam used his role as a physician to violate that integrity and divert prescription cancer drugs away from treating patients.”
“Our agency is dedicated to ensuring that medical providers follow laws designed to protect both the integrity and solvency of Federal health care programs, as well as the beneficiaries they serve,” said Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our Federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate allegations of fraud.”
Authorities say Aslam’s participation in the scheme not only allowed him to make a large profit, but “it also posed a serious threat by potentially placing these medications into the wrong hands.”
“This breach of trust is inexcusable, especially considering the critical nature of the drugs involved. The FBI is unwavering in its commitment to hold medical professionals accountable for exploiting their positions for personal gain and endangering community safety, said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.
Ison's office did not release any information about the others involved in the alleged scheme and did not say whether anyone else has been or will be indicted.