City pharmacist admits to selling black market meds: Officials

A pharmacist has been banned from selling medicine after admitting he peddled black market meds to his customers, officials said Tuesday.

Rao Veeramachaneni, who owned a pharmacy on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn and Positive Care Pharmacy on East Tremont Ave. in the Bronx, sold the illegal drugs, including HIV/AIDS medicines, for two years, according to State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Veeramachaneni made more than $1 million from Medicaid for the sales, Schneiderman said.

"Patients should be able to trust that the medications they buy at a pharmacy are obtained only through properly regulated channels," Schneiderman said in a statement.

In addition to abdicating his pharmacist's license and withdrawing from the Medicaid program, Veeramachaneni will also pay the state $1.2 million in restitution under a plea deal with Schneiderman's office.