TROY (WWJ) -- A Troy man has been indicted in a multi-million dollar prescription drug smuggling and money laundering scheme.
The Justice Department announced that Joshua Ford and 4 others from Georgia, Colorado and Florida worked together to bring the drugs into the U.S. and then hired people from Muskegon to sell them throughout west Michigan.
Federal investigators say the group ran two websites, Express PCT and Express Peds, to sell prescription drugs, controlled substances and steroids.
The drugs sold on the sites were manufactured largely, if not entirely, outside of the United States, said investigators.
Express PCT accepted Bitcoin as well as alternative forms of payment, including the usage of payment apps, such as Zelle and Cash App.
Investigators have traced at least $12 million back to the scheme
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The indictment said the websites did not ask customers for prescriptions even though the drugs sold require a person to be under the supervision of a health care professional.
If convicted of conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the United States, the defendants face a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Four of the five defendants made their initial appearances on March 10 in the districts of their arrest. They will all then be arraigned in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on March 21.
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