State sues West Windsor firm over prescription sales

Medications4Less illegally sold discount drugs from Canada over the Internet, according to six-count complaint

By: Nick Norlen
   WEST WINDSOR — The state Attorney General’s Office has filed a civil suit against a Princeton Junction company and its operator charging that it illegally sold discount Canadian prescription drugs over the Internet.
   The six-count complaint, filed in conjunction with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs in State Superior Court in Trenton, charges Princeton Junction resident Karen Azarchi and her business, Medications4Less, with engaging in "operation of an unlicensed pharmacy" and "unconscionable commercial practices."
   According to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office issued April 11, undercover investigators received anti-depressants from the company despite the fact that the prescription orders were written by "fictitious" doctors.
   The suit explains that the nonexistent physicians were created by the Consumer Affairs division’s E-Commerce Investigative Unit and listed in the division’s public Internet database as possessing suspended licenses.
   The prescriptions were filled anyway, the suit says.
   The suit also alleges that incorrect amounts of pills were sent, and that one patient received two drugs, Parnate and Prozac, known to cause dangerous and potentially fatal interactions when used together.
   Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jeff Lamm said the state is pursuing a civil suit because the case constitutes a violation of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, a civil statute.
   Ms. Azarchi could not be reached for comment.
   Her company’s Web site, www.medications4less.com, says that it "has been temporarily shut down by court order."