The owners of a Pembroke Pines research clinic admitted in federal court this week that they faked data for two asthma drug trials and overcharged the sponsor testing the medications.
Angela Baquero, 49, and Ricardo Acuna, 52, both of Weston, each face a maximum of five years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.
Federal prosecutors said Baquero and Acuna were the owners of A&R Research Group in Pembroke Pines, which conducted clinical trials of drugs whose manufacturers are seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Prosecutors said the pair included patients who were not eligible for the study and falsified data that included case histories and test results. They also submitted information for people who weren’t even participating in the tests.
“Clinical trials are essential to evaluating the safety and efficacy of potential drug treatments,” said Yaakov Roth, acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with the FDA to investigate and prosecute those who illegally undermine the integrity of the clinical trial process to facilitate fraudulent payments.”
In a separate but related guilty plea last week, Matthew Teltser, 70, of Hollywood, who served as the clinical investigator for numerous A&R clinical trials, admitted making false statements to an FDA investigator looking into several trials at A&R. Teltser told the investigator that he had been present at every subject visit during the two asthma clinical trials, when in reality he was not.
Baquero and Acuna are due back in court on Sept. 19 before U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz. Teltser is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal on June 10.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
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