Feds: Cancer doctor used phony medicine

A federal grand jury convicted D. Anda Norbergs, 61, of Palm Harbor in a case where authorities say she both bought unapproved cancer medications from foreign sources and defrauded Medicare.

Norbergs was founded guilty of 17 counts of receipt and delivery of misbranded drugs; 12 counts of smuggling goods into the United States; 11 counts of health care fraud; and 5 counts of mail fraud, according to a statement from the U. S. Attorney's office. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud and smuggling offense, 10 years' imprisonment for each health care fraud count and 3 years for each count of receipt and delivery of misbranded drugs. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2017.

Norbergs, beginning in at least May 2009, ordered and directed others at her practice, East Lake Oncology, to order drugs from foreign, unlicensed distributors, according to testimony and evidence presented at trial. A licensed physician in Florida, Norbergs was the head doctor, owner and operator of East Lake, a cancer treatment in Palm Harbor.

The drugs sold to East Lake by foreign, unlicensed distributors were not FDA-approved, authorities contended. One entity, Quality Specialty Products, reportedly sold counterfeit versions of a chemotherapy medication that did not have the key ingredient in the drug.

“Norbergs learned of this news from other sources yet continued to have QSP drugs administered to patients,” the release from the U. S. Attorney's office states. “When QSP shut down, Norbergs switched to buying drugs from another foreign, unlicensed distributor. Many of the drugs were shipped directly to ELO from a location outside the United States, usually from the United Kingdom.”

The packaging and documents shipped with the drugs showed they were manufactured and packaged for distribution in foreign countries, such as Turkey, India and Germany. Some of the packaging for the drugs was in foreign languages, with no English translation, officials say.

The misbranded drugs were then administered at East Lake, where patients had no knowledge of the process. East Lake, after administering these drugs to patients, submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare.

“In submitting those claims, Norbergs falsely represented that the FDA-approved versions of the drugs had been administered, when she knew that unapproved and misbranded versions had been given to patients,” the release states. “In so doing, Norbergs intended to generate profits from the difference between the Medicare reimbursement rates for the FDA-approved drugs and the discounted prices of the misbranded versions of those drugs purchased from foreign distributors.”