Patients sue clinics, distributor over falsified spinal implants
Dozens of people in the US have filed lawsuits against an equipment distributor and several healthcare facilities for using unapproved implants in spinal surgery.
The lawsuits centre on spinal implants distributed by now-defunct Spinal Solutions LLC to clinics, and paints a picture of an organised fraudulent network fuelled by kickbacks given in exchange for patient referrals to spinal surgeons.
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Out of control smuggling has tobacco farmers worried
Farmer Nguyen Van Sau in the southern province of Tay Ninh’s Ben Cau District is relieved that it has been a profitable year for tobacco farmers, as the crop has fed his family and hundreds of others for decades. Still, Sau and other farmers are increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in cigarette smuggling along Tay Ninh’s long border with Cambodia.
“Smuggled cigarettes are bad for our business, and they lower our tobacco prices,” he told Viet Nam News.
Pham Kien Nghiep, general secretary of the Viet Nam Tobacco Association (VAT), said the number of smugglers had risen greatly due to the huge profits. In fact, the smuggling of cigarettes in Viet Nam is far worse than most people realise. In a survey conducted in 2012 by the Oxford Economics Department and the US-based International Tax and Investment Centre, the country ranked second in Asia in the number of smuggled cigarettes.
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How Counterfeit Anabolic Steroids Cross US Border
Anabolic steroids are made in various countries and have to cross international borders to get to their target market. Smuggling anabolic steroids involves complicated organized crime and made combined with the smuggling efforts of other illicit drugs. But unlike psychoactive illegal drugs such as heroin and cannabis, there have not been any high profile cases in the news of anabolic steroids smugglers being caught in the act.
http://www.healthaim.com/how-counterfeit-anabolic-steroids-cross-us-border/6413
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Cornwall cops could lay new criminal charges on smugglers
An anti-contraband tobacco official says new legislation should beef up police force’s capabilities against cigarette smuggling. The federal government is passing tougher legislation, Bill C-10, that would allow police to slap smugglers with criminal charges, possibly leading to much harsher convictions, said Gary Grant, national spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco.
“We’re looking toward a Quebec model,” Grant said, after meeting with Cornwall Community Police Service Chief Dan Parkinson.
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Feds prosecuting $43M tobacco smuggling case
Federal prosecutors allege a Connecticut man defrauded taxpayers in that state and in Massachusetts of $43 million in a tobacco smuggling case. According to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, Syed Bokhari, 50, of Middletown, Conn., appeared in federal court Friday in connection with a 32-count indictment alleging conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, trafficking in contraband smokeless tobacco, money laundering, and violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act.
http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20141020/NEWS01/141029992
Lear MoreFake cigarettes cause OMR3.5m loss to country
Smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes leads to a revenue loss of nearly OMR3.5 million to the country and they constitute 21 per cent of illegal products being brought into the Omani market by smugglers. Further, the majority of consumers who buy smuggled goods are between the age group of 18 and 45, according to a study conducted by the Euromonitor Research Associate. The study revealed that illegally smuggled goods are in high demand among low-income expatriates due to their crave for less expensive products.
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Tobacco firms rue weak anti-smuggling campaign
The domestic tobacco industry hopes that the Government can be more effective in fighting an impending surge in smuggling that causes losses amounting to trillions of dong to the State Budget. A report in the Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) Newspaper last week quoted Pham Kien Nghiep, the General Secretary of the Viet Nam Tobacco Association’s (VTA), as saying: “Current legal sanctions are ineffective to deal with tobacco smugglers, who include both local residents and carriers from elsewhere.” Nghiep said he was aware that the law enforcement agencies faced a difficult task since the smugglers were fighting back to protect their goods and also managing to escape when stopped.
Under current rules, smugglers will face criminal charges if they are caught transporting 1,500 cigarette packets or more. However, they spilt their goods into smaller portions, making it difficult to charge them with the crime.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/114179/tobacco-firms-rue-weak-anti-smuggling-campaign.html
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US nuclear agency seeks comment on counterfeits
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the US is examining measures designed to stop counterfeit, fraudulent and suspect items (CFSI) entering the supply chain.
The agency has just published a new regulatory issue summary (RIS) to draw attention to existing
NRC regulations encouraging stakeholders in the supply chain to prevent CFSIs being acquired or used in nuclear facilities, and also check that its safeguards are still up to scratch.
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UK High Court orders ISPs to block trademark-infringing sites
A landmark ruling has been handed down in the UK that establishes the right of trademark owners to secure court orders blocking websites that sell counterfeit products.
The case against several Internet service Providers (ISPs) – including BT, BskyB, EE, Talk Talk and Virgin Media – was filed last month by Richemont, which owns several of the world’s leading luxury goods firms including Cartier, IWC and Montblanc.
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Dentists warned of counterfeit equipment following huge haul
Medical regulator launches investigations after thousands of pieces of poor quality imported dental equipment seized. The dental equipment was imported into the UK from China and Pakistan and sold on eBay, Amazon and Alibaba. Photograph: Medicines And Healthcare Product/PA
Dentists have been warned about the potential danger of buying and using counterfeit and unapproved dental equipment, a regulator has said.
It follows the seizure of over 12,000 different pieces of poor quality dental equipment imported into the UK from China and Pakistan and sold on auction websites such as eBay, Amazon and Alibaba in the past six months.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/17/dentists-warn-counterfeit-equipment-seized-haul
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