Burning bills

Remember the Ice T line, “So much cash gotta keep it in Hefty bags?” These Florida brothers, illicit pill mill operators the both of them, had so much cash they had to keep it in Hefty bags, yes, but they also had so much cash they burned the $1 bills as punishment for not being $5, $10, or $20 bills. Business tip: If you have so much money you are literally burning cash, you need to take another look at operations. Chris and Jeff George are now in jail after their prescription pill empire was shut down by prosecutors.

The cash piled up despite the brothers’ free-spending ways. Jeff George bought a monster truck, multiple Lamborghinis and a Mercedes Saks 5th Avenue Edition. There were only five of those cars made, and George liked his so much that when he totaled it, he bought himself another, according to a friend.

Jeff George assembled a small navy, including a 36-foot racing vessel, a 39-foot sports boat and two yachts, 38 and 55 feet in length. He also bought the shopping plaza housing his favorite strip club. The purchases were a convenient way to launder money, according to the indictment.

At the end of the article, it says the physicians associated with the Georges’ operation were among the top purchasers of oxycodone, and that their demise “played a major role in reversing both local and national trends of rapidly increasing painkiller abuse.” I would love to see numbers backing that, as well as the impact on pharmaceutical company profits.

(via @delfuego)

• Florida