LV man convicted in illegal Internet drug distribution

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

A Las Vegas man has been found guilty of illegally distributing prescription drugs over the Internet.

A federal jury on Friday found Christian Frederic Finze, 46, guilty of importing drugs from Germany and selling the drugs to U.S. residents without valid prescriptions for the pharmaceuticals.

Finze was found guilty on 17 felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering and various drug offenses. Finze is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28 and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each felony count.

Finze and one of his employees, Joan Davis, were indicted on charges of conspiracy and distribution and importation of controlled substances in December 2002. Much of the underlying criminal complaint in the case is based on the investigation of an undercover agent with the Food and Drug Administration who posed as a customer and allegedly purchased drugs from Finze.

Finze, who operated businesses known as Vinci-Online.com and Vinci American Ltd., was found guilty of shipping drugs from Germany to fill Internet orders between October 1998 and May 2002.

Davis, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in February and was sentenced to 37 months in prison, testified against her former employer.

Davis said she handled much of the ordering of drugs from Germany for customers in the United States but was uncomfortable with Finze allegedly allowing those without prescriptions to order drugs.

"He told me that it's the customer's responsibility not to order a medication if they don't have a prescription for it," Davis said.

Davis also testified that Finze's wife and a friend, who both lived in Germany, would purchase German drugs and then mail them via German mail to the United States. When questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Stanish as to why a carrier like Federal Express wasn't used, Davis said it was because shipping companies routinely check packages and wouldn't have allowed the drugs through.

The shipments included 7,200 units of Flunitrazepam, commonly known as Rohypnol or the "date rape drug.