Rockland business implicated in $5M medical drugs and devices diversion

The owner and an employee of a former Rockland County business have been indicted for allegedly obtaining medical devices and drugs in a $5 million fraud.

A federal grand jury charged Moses Rabinowitz and Menachim “Manny” Samber with conspiracy to obtain pre-retail medical devices and over-the-counter drugs by fraud or deception, Dec. 19 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.

Rabinowitz, 42, who is also known as Mark Rabin or by the first name, Moshe, and Samber, 29, pleaded not guilty at their initial appearances on Dec. 21 before Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik.

Rabinowitz ran Trasco LLC, in Valley Cottage, and affiliates GlobalMed International Ltd. and Panamedica Trading Inc. Samber worked in purchasing and sales.

Trasco bought medical products from three manufacturers, ostensibly to sell overseas.

Medical products intended for the U.S. market are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and must meet stringent standards for manufacturing, labeling and packaging.

Products shipped overseas may contain different ingredients, use different units of measurement or omit warning labels. And U.S. customers who unknowingly buy foreign medical products, according to the indictment, could miss recall notifications when something goes wrong.

Medical products sold in the U.S. generally cost more than similar foreign products, the indictment states, and products shipped overseas are often deeply discounted.

From 2014 to 2019, Rabinowitz and Samber allegedly obtained cheaper products by telling manufacturers that the products would be sold outside the U.S.

They used foreign front companies to buy the products, according to the indictment. Foreign language labeling and packaging were removed, and dummy shipments were arranged to create proof-of-export documentation.

Then the products were allegedly sold to wholesalers and distributors in the U.S.

The government says the scheme enriched Rabinowitz and Samber and resulted in more than $5 million in losses for the manufacturers.

Trasco moved from Rockland to Northvale, New Jersey in 2018.

Rabinowitz, of Clifton, New Jersey, was released from custody on posting a $750,000 appearance bond. Samber, of Hollywood, Florida, posted a $500,000 bond.

They were ordered to have no contact with one-another or with current and former Trasco employees.

Attorneys who represent the men did not reply to a message asking for their clients’ sides of the story.