Man Charged With Running $230 Million Fake HIV Drug Ring Out on Bail

The man in Florida facing up to 100 years in prison for allegedly distributing over $230 million worth of adulterated and misbranded HIV medication was released on bail just in time to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Lazaro Hernandez, 51, of Miami, was arrested last month and charged with the illegal acquisition of “large quantities of HIV medication” which he and his alleged co-conspirators then repackaged to appear authentic. He has remained in jail since his arrest last month while he awaits trial.

At a recent detention hearing, Marc Seitles, Hernandez’s defense attorney, argued for his client’s release on bond. According to a report in the Miami Herald, there was strong opposition by federal prosecutors, but Seitles said they have presented no evidence to date that would warrant further detention of Hernandez while he awaits trial.

“This is not the court of assumption,” Seitles said in court. “This is a court of law, You cannot proceed just on the evidence of prosecutors banging their chest. You have to present evidence of risk of flight and danger to the community, and they have not presented one shred of it.”

Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, who is overseeing the case, agreed with Seitles and granted the $1.4 million bond. Hernandez was released on June 30.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez and his co-conspirators also established licensed wholesale drug distribution companies in multiple states to sell their altered HIV drugs at a steep discount to unsuspecting pharmacies across the country, who in turn unknowingly sold them to patients. Prosecutors allege Hernandez and his co-conspirators were paid $230 million through their scheme which took place between 2019 and 2021.