CANARX Treasurer Arrested Over Alleged Illegal Drug Imports
Federal authorities have arrested a top official of the Canadian company CANARX, accusing him of helping run a long-running scheme to bring prescription drugs into the United States illegally. The charges are allegations. No court has ruled on them.
John Thomas Howard, the company's treasurer and a director, was arrested on a Sunday on smuggling and conspiracy charges, according to court records filed Tuesday. His brother, Bob Howard, who is CANARX's president and a director, is wanted in the same investigation, the records say.
The records include an affidavit from Dustin Dobbs, a special agent with the Food and Drug Administration. Prosecutors accuse the two men, the company's top officials, of operating the alleged importation scheme over a long period.
A company already under scrutiny
CANARX was featured in a CNBC investigation called "RiskyRX," published last year. That reporting examined companies known as alternative funding programs, or AFPs, which are becoming more common across the United States as drug costs climb.
The investigation described CANARX and similar firms as part of that growing trend. The new court filings do not make the broader industry a target of the charges. They name the two CANARX executives.
What is alleged, and what is not
The accusations center on illegally importing prescription drugs into the U.S. The charges against John Thomas Howard are smuggling and conspiracy. Both are claims by prosecutors that he will have the chance to contest in court.
Bob Howard has not been reported as arrested. Records describe him as wanted in the federal investigation.
The next steps will come through the court process, where the affidavit's claims against both brothers will be tested.
