FBI agents raid Ocean Springs pharmaceutical company
Federal agents armed with search warrants raided Gulf Coast Pharmaceuticals Plus in Ocean Springs on Friday.
The business on North Halstead Road is owned by Kenneth Ritchey, a pharmaceutical wholesaler and former business partner of the late Clark Levi, owner of Lovelace Drugs in downtown Ocean Springs.
FBI agents raided Lovelace Drugs in October 2019 as part of an ongoing investigation into the sale of compound pharmaceuticals.
It’s unclear whether the raid Friday had anything to do with compound pharmaceuticals, though more information was expected to be released later in the day.
No arrests have been made so far in connection with Friday’s early-morning raid, a federal agent said Friday.
More than 10 agents, with assistance from local and state authorities, participated in the raid.
The FBI is heading up the investigation, but declined to comment at the scene.
The Sun Herald reached out to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst for additional information, but he declined to comment.
The business, which includes three buildings on the south end of North Halstead Road, is closed for now.
Agents could be seen loading up items they obtained in the search in a U-Haul truck outside the buildings.
The Sun Herald reached out to Ritchey’s attorney for comment Friday, but didn’t hear back.
In the last year, Ritchey had sued Levi for $10 million related to the late pharmacy owner’s decision to buy out his partners at Alvix Laboratories, LLC, also in Ocean Springs. Ritchey was one of the partners at Alvix Labs.
In the suit, Ritchey claimed Levi was supposed to share future profits from Alvix Labs if the company grew.
Instead, Levi allegedly hid those profits from Ken Ritchey by creating shell companies to avoid showing that Alvix Labs was making more money, Ritchey’s lawsuit said.
Richey had expected to receive a minimum of $3.3 million and a maximum of $10 million in exchange for giving up his ownership interest in Alvix and releasing Levi from any potential claims.
The lawsuit has since been settled.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
