Olushola Yusuf

Introduction

Olushola Yusuf, 60, of Tampa, Florida, is a licensed pharmacist and pharmacy owner sentenced to 90 months in federal prison — over seven years — for her role in illegally dispensing more than 300,000 oxycodone 30mg pills to pharmacy patrons who had no medical need for the drug. She was sentenced on October 29, 2026, according to the announcement issued the next day by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the DEA, the FBI, and HHS-OIG. The sentence followed her July 2026 conviction by a federal jury on a conspiracy count and five counts of illegal drug distribution.

Background Information

Yusuf owned and operated two South Florida pharmacies: Boots LLC, doing business as Striderite, in Margate, and Chans Pharmacy Plus, Inc., in Pembroke Pines. The drug at the center of the case, oxycodone 30mg, is the maximum strength available of the medication — both sought after and potentially dangerous due to its potency — and is typically prescribed to seriously ill patients, such as those suffering from chronic cancer pain or traumatic injuries. Beyond her age, her Tampa residence, and the two pharmacies, the releases say nothing about her training, her licensing history, or how long she had operated the stores.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced.

After a two-week trial in July 2026, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted Yusuf of conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs and five counts of illegal drug distribution; the Justice Department’s conviction announcement, issued Wednesday, July 22, 2026, places the verdict the previous day, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Yusuf dispensed oxycodone to nearly all of her pharmacy customers, charged them approximately 10 times the typical cost of the drug, and required payment in cash. In total, both releases state, she dispensed at least 335,351 oxycodone 30mg pills during the conspiracy.

The operation around the dispensing was distinctive. Customers drove long distances across the state of Florida to have Yusuf fill prescriptions that they could not get filled at any other pharmacy. Some customers were drug dealers who picked up oxycodone pills purportedly on behalf of dozens of patients at a time who were not present. Witnesses at trial testified that Yusuf kept the doors to her pharmacies locked during business hours, directing employees to open them only for certain identified customers, and she continued the operation even after repeated warnings from her own employees and the DEA about the dangers of it. Some customers paid as much as $1,300 a month in cash for the drugs.

Federal officials framed the verdict sharply. “The defendant abused the public trust by using her pharmacies to unlawfully distribute deadly opioids,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, adding, “whether you deal drugs on a street corner or from behind a pharmacy counter, the Fraud Division will hold you fully accountable under the law.” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said, “Olushola Yusuf did not simply ignore red flags. She built her business around them,” and that she “knowingly flooded South Florida communities with more than 335,000 high-dose oxycodone pills.” Yusuf faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count, and CBS12 reported that her sentencing hearing had been scheduled for October 14, 2026. Her co-defendant, Saman Gimenez, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The reaction on the record is official, not popular: the verdict drew the quoted statements above from the Justice Department’s Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with no community or patient statements appearing in any of the three accounts. The sentencing announcement was made jointly by Assistant Attorney General McDonald, U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, DEA Chief of Operations Matthew W. Allen, FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia, and Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The consequences are concrete: a felony conviction on six counts, a 90-month prison term, and a co-defendant’s sentence still pending. The case was investigated by the DEA, the FBI, and HHS-OIG, and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Angela Benoit of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline DerOvanesian for the Southern District of Florida.

Current Status

Yusuf has been convicted and sentenced. The jury’s verdict came on July 21, 2026, on the conspiracy count and five distribution counts, and on October 29, 2026 she was sentenced to 90 months in prison. The sentencing release does not state a report date for her prison term, whether she remains out of custody pending it, or whether she will appeal. Her co-defendant Saman Gimenez pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year, so the case’s final chapter is still open.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The sentence converts a licensed pharmacy career into a 90-month federal prison term, with the trial record establishing that at least 335,351 maximum-strength oxycodone pills moved through her two stores at roughly ten times the usual price, cash only, for customers who had no medical need for the drug and who included dealers picking up for dozens of absent patients. The evidence of how she ran the businesses — doors locked during business hours, entry only for identified customers, dispensing continued after warnings from employees and the DEA — is now the documented account of how the pharmacies operated. The releases describe nothing about what becomes of Boots LLC or Chans Pharmacy Plus after her sentence, and nothing about her finances or family beyond the cash payments she collected.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Florida Pharmacist Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Massive Illegal Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy”, October 30, 2026 — source
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Florida Pharmacist Convicted of Massive Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy”, July 22, 2026 — source
CBS12, “335,000 high-dose oxy pills, cash-only: South Florida pharmacy owner found guilty by jury”, July 22, 2026 — source