Two men who ran a Rockland County medical supply business have pleaded guilty to misbranding drugs and devices and have agreed to forfeit $506,358 to the government.
Moses Rabinowitz, the owner of the Trasco LLC office and warehouse, formerly based in Valley Cottage, and his employee, Menachem Samber, were indicted in 2023 in an alleged $5 million scheme to defraud medical products suppliers.
They were accused of obtaining the products from 2014 to 2019 by using foreign front companies to buy the items for sale outside of the U.S. at deep discounts, then mislabeling them to sell at higher prices to wholesalers and distributors in the U.S.
They sold “to unwitting consumers,” according to superseding charges filed in the past two weeks, “who were unaware they were buying products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale in the United States.”
Their lawyers filed motions to dismiss the charges and suppress evidence, arguing that selling medical products meant for international markets but actually selling them domestically “sounds more akin to civil wrongs than criminal actions.”
Such “gray market” goods are matters for manufacturers to deal with, they claimed, “not something to be policed by the federal government.”
U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel denied the motions on Jan. 27.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky filed superseding charges, dropping the original fraud charges and accusing the men of introducing misbranded drugs and devices into interstate commerce.
Rabinowitz and Samber pleaded guilty, pursuant to plea deals with the government.
Moses Rabinowitz, also known as Moshe Rabinowitz and as Mark Rabin, of Clifton, New Jersey, is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 3. Menachem “Manny” Samber, of Hollywood, Florida, is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 4.
