Tinley Couple Arrested, Accused of Illegally Dispensing Drugs and Tax Fraud

A Tinley Park couple, who own a weight loss clinic with an Orland Park branch, was indicted Thursday on charges of illegally dispensing drugs to patients and tax evasion.

Rakesh Anand, 55, and his wife, Meena Anand, 51, operate Doctors Weight Loss Centers. The clinics have sites in Orland, Lansing and Northwest Indiana. Investigators say the two were illegally giving amphetamine-based controlled substances to their patients, engaging in illegal money transactions and committing tax fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Anands were charged by a federal jury in Hammond, Ind., Wednesday in a 35-count indictment, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced Thursday.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of $6.3 million— $3.6 million of which has been frozen by the government in various bank and brokerage accounts—and more than $700,000 in cash that was seized from the Anands’ home in May 2010.

Rakesh Anand was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, six counts of distributing controlled substances, 20 counts of illegally structuring monetary transactions to avoid currency transaction reports, three counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, and four counts of tax fraud.

Meena Anand, who helped her husband run the centers and managed the Lansing and Orland Park sites, faces all of the same charges with the exception of the six counts of distributing controlled substances.

The tax charges allege that the Anands substantially under-reported their income on their federal tax returns between 2005 and 2008 and, as a result, failed to pay $745,280 that they owe to the IRS.

The drug distribution and conspiracy charges allege that the pair illegally dispensed amphetamine-based Phendimetrazine and Phentermine to patients without a doctor giving a physical exam or any medical tests. They also gave the drugs without reviewing patients’ records, a thorough medical history, or health progress, according to the indictment.

The couple allegedly offered discounts to patients who bought their two- or three-month pill supplies using cash or a credit card. The indictment also states that a physician can't prescribe these controlled substances for weight loss, or to control obesity, without performing required medical exams. Patients are also supposed to prove that they first tried diet and exercise before seeking out a prescribed supplement for weight loss.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Food and Drug Administration and the Indiana State Police.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago is handling prosecution in the Northern District of Indiana.

The Anands will be arraigned in Hammond at a yet-to-be-determined date.