Upstate Pharmacist Sentenced for Unlawfully Compounding Radioactive Drugs

GREENVILLE, S.C. -Richard A. Sheriff, 73, of Easley, has pleaded guilty to adulteration of a drug and been sentenced to one year of probation.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Sheriff was the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Shertech, a pharmacy providing nuclear and radiopharmaceutical drugs to medical facilities in the Greenville area. From January 2018-June 2019, Sheriff, and pharmacists under his direction, would "fractionate" or "split" the active ingredient of Technescan MAG3, without ensuring the pieces were equal in size, purity or strength. This compounding was done without proper protective gear, testing, or quality assurance. The resulting diluted product was used in procedures such as renal scans to diagnose various illnesses, such as kidney disease.

Sheriff did not notify his customers when he dispensed radioactive MAG3 that the amount of active ingredient was diluted. As such, Shertech created a risk of poor-quality patient scans and potential repeated scans that would expose patients to additional radiation.

"Patients and healthcare facilities must be able to trust the quality of the pharmaceuticals they receive from providers like Shertech," said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. "Adhering to sanitary standards when formulating these drugs is not only the lawful thing to do, but also the ethical thing to do."

"Adulterating a drug under insanitary conditions threatens the health and safety of U.S. consumers. In this case, the adulterated product potentially contained only a portion of the full dosage needed for renal imaging, causing a direct risk to adult and pediatric patients of poor-quality and potential repeat scans with additional radiation exposure," said Special Agent in Charge Justin Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office. "We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who threaten the health of consumers by evading FDA requirements."

United States District Judge Kevin McDonald accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Sheriff to one year of probation and imposed a fine of $2,000. Sheriff previously agreed to forfeit over $166,000 in revenues.

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Holliday and Amy F. Bower are prosecuting the case.

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