NASHVILLE, Tenn. – May 23, 2019 – The final person charged last year in a in a conspiracy to obtain and distribute oxycodone in the Nashville area has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

AbdulNasar Nour, 25, of Antioch, Tennessee, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, after being indicted with four others in June 2018.

In January 2017, Nour and others devised a scheme to steal the personal identification information, including the DEA registration numbers, from four area medical providers, in order to create fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone.  Another defendant, William Afari, worked as an intern at a dental clinic in Nashville, and stole the personal information of 22 patients, which was then used to create the fraudulent prescriptions.  These prescriptions were presented at  pharmacies in the Nashville area and exchanged for oxycodone.

Others charged in this conspiracy have previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.  They include William Afari, 24, of Antioch, Tennessee; Simbarashe Kanjanda, aka Simba, 38, of Hermitage, Tennessee; Kudakawashe Mandishona, aka Kuda, 24, of Antioch, Tennessee; and Robert Pride, Jr., 32, of Nashville, Tennessee.

Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison and up to 20 years, when they are sentenced later this year. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Tennessee Office of Inspector General; and the Smyrna Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed A. Safeeullah.     

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