MIAMI — Two Miami men, Boris Arencibia, 52, and Jose Armando Rivera Garcia, 45, were sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for their roles in schemes that funneled diverted and misbranded prescription drugs into pharmacies across the United States.
The sentencing, handed down on October 30 by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles, runs concurrently with 43-month sentences the men received in a separate 2025 case. Prosecutors say the conspirators trafficked approximately $28 million worth of pharmaceuticals, including medications for HIV and cancer.
Court documents detail how Arencibia and Rivera Garcia purchased high-cost medications from illicit street sources—patients selling prescriptions and individuals obtaining drugs fraudulently. The medications, which require strict storage and temperature controls, were kept with no safeguards before being distributed through the pair’s network.
“Diverted drugs put patients’ lives at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. “These defendants pushed tainted and repackaged medications into pharmacies across the country, knowing full well the danger.”
Investigators say the duo repackaged the drugs and falsified documentation, making them appear to come from legitimate manufacturers. The medications were sold through sham pharmaceutical distribution companies, sometimes containing incorrect drugs, vitamins, or even pebbles.
Arencibia was identified as a major supplier, while Rivera Garcia operated LDD Distributors, a shell company that handled the fraudulent products before selling them to other conspirators. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and trafficking in medical products with falsified documentation.
Federal authorities, including the FDA, HHS-OIG, and FBI, emphasize that the schemes endangered patients and undermined the integrity of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain.
