₦airaland Forum

A 65-year-old Nigerian doctor, Ndubuisi Joseph Okafor, was found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in connection with illegally distributing prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for cash from his Northwest Washington D.C. medical clinic.

Okafor, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was convicted on Friday, March 21, 2025, the US Department of Justice announced in a statement.

The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division.

The jury found Okafor guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (outside the practice of medicine), maintaining a drug-involved premise, and 22 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances (oxycodone and promethazine with codeine). U.S. District Judge John D. Bates scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 20, 2025.

According to court documents and evidence at trial, between May 2021 and April of 2023, Okafor was the sole practitioner and owner of Okafor Medical Associates, an internal medicine clinic in Northwest, Washington, D.C.

The USAO and FBI began investigating Okafor for illegal distribution of controlled substances after it received information from law enforcement agencies nationwide regarding prescriptions from Okafor being connected to local drug trafficking networks.

Between February 18, 2022, and November 30, 2022, the FBI sent confidential sources and undercover agents into Okafor’s medical practice for walk-in appointments. Each individual was prescribed opioids by Okafor after minimal examination.

Further investigation revealed that Okafor was operating a nationwide drug distribution scheme, whereby he would prescribe opioids to numerous individuals using false identities, whom Okafor knew to be diverting the medication.

Okafor’s conduct spanned at least 45 states and resulted in hundreds of thousands of units of oxycodone and promethazine with codeine liquid prescribed nationwide.

Okafor was convicted of distribution of opioids to undercover sources, numerous uncharged co-conspirators, and to a civilian patient J.V. Okafor was also convicted of conspiracy and maintaining a drug-involved premises.

Evidence at trial further established that, after Okafor was notified by the D.C. Board of Health that J.V.’s family member filed a complaint against him, he created backdated medical records for J.V. in an attempt to justify his prescribing.

The investigation also resulted in the immediate suspension of Okafor’s DEA registration number in September 2023 as he was deemed to be a threat to public health and safety.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with valuable assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department gratefully acknowledge the Apex, North Carolina Police Department, the Warsaw, New York, Police Department, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania State Police, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy, and the Noble County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office for their extraordinary efforts, support, and cooperation during the investigation and trial.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith Mayer-Dempsey, Trial Attorney Kathryn Furtado and paralegals Rebecca Walton, Dillon Clark, and Matthew McClarnon of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section.

The team also extends its deep appreciation to Michael Goodrich, Lead Travel Analyst of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section.

Blakjewelry:
Perhaps you are still not getting the point. If you read my original post, I said if you are talking about well organized city then you are right, I only cited onitsha and enugu as a case of city without lands. BTW enugu still try as a modern city except maybe you have not been there before.

iamphilips:
Hope you no dey use this Brain cross road

eagleu:
So ignorant and wrong at every level. It's okay to be ignorant, but ignorant and loud?. No.
Get a small education on the question you have asked, and you will notice how dumb you sound.

AndroBlaze:
Even Dangote, that Forbes officially recognises, only paid $100m for his refinery land that is officially 6 times the size of Victoria Island....it is now one namless Igbo woman that has a $250m investment in the same Lekki!

When we say go to school and invest in real education for yourself, some people no go hear, instead they will be coming to fill this board with their village tales by moonlight and irritating exaggerations.

kettykin:
If you're from the East, please and please and please, do your risk analysis, think twice before sinking money into another Ajaokuta Steel project. Your so-called investment could be bulldozed overnight for a transatlantic cable, a coastal highway, a drainage channel, or an overhead bridge—without warning, without compensation. History has shown that misplaced trust leads to bitter regrets. Act now, or be prepared to rant later.


There's a case of a $250m estate owned by an igbo lady somewhere around ibeju lekki that was demolished for the coastal highway and is trending here in the United States. Please don't be a victim of Nigeria. Do your risk analysis very well.

Sugarboyy:
What about your state of Origin, it doesn't have money?
You can as well tell you state government to come up with such city and show LASG how best it should be done

Blakjewelry:
Funny when you don't think it through before reply, if high rise building is sign of development why are they only available in cramped cities mostly ones that filled from edge to edge and not suburban or rural areas in the US. Why are there well organized cities in Europe without high rise building but are still classified as modern cities, again have been to onitsha and enugu?
Land is scarce and expensive so most people tend to go for storey buildings instead of ground houses and as land because more expensive and unavailable, skyscrapers will come to the rescue, I bet it will extremely difficult to see free land lying about in cities like new york.

JagabanBorgu:
It was built by a govt with excessive revenue from oil.
I always say the average Nigerian is only good at talking nothing more.
U all make comparisons only when it favors u, was America built by the government too?
Was the UK built by the Govt?
First bank is building a HQ there, join them to build your own too instead of taIking.

Egypt is building a capital with money from China, I'm sure u will call any govt that tries that in Nigeria names without end.

JagabanBorgu:
Invest your money to make it faster, the only thing the average Nigerian is good is talking.
Eko Atlantic city is an initiative of LASG the one you are comparing with is a national project building a new capital, u Iots are reaIIy pàthètic.
Egypt's new capital is financed majorly by the Chinese, if Tinubu replicate something like that today, u will make dozens of posts to tell us how it's not important, same way Lienus and his cronies will post and post but here u are making comparison between that a project initiated by a state govt.

Invest your money to make it faster.