Mark Kolowich

Mark Kolowich (born 1959) A internet life style [...] salesman who pioneered the boom in internet pharmacies globally in the late 90’s, and gained notoriety in the United States on August 30, 2005, when he was featured on the cover of The Wall Street Journal.

Biography

Mr. Kolowich, an American, was born into an affluent family who father made his fortune in the 1950-60's as owner of the largest trucking business in the U.S. called DC trucking. He spent his childhood traveling around the Caribbean and Mediterranean on his family's private yacht the M/S Juanita, and he went to boarding schools in England and Lugano, Switzerland. He attended college prep school Hawk Hurst Court for boys in Billing Hurst, West Sussex England, and was accepted into Brighton College in Brighton England where he graduate with a degree in International Business, and then finished his graduate studies at USIU in San Diego California During early adulthood, Mr. Kolowich worked as a Fed Funds trader in the money markets with Garvin, Guy Butler Inc. in the San Francisco Financial district, as licensed securities dealer. He then went on to start several small businesses. One of those business Odette Frames became very successful pioneering the picture frame business with a design called the ‘floating frame’. He later sold the business and manufacturering facilities in the United States and Mexico to Westmar Inc. industries of Chula Vista California a leader in the house wares / giftware business. Mr. Kolowich then became fascinated with the advent of the Internet in the mid 90’s and started a wholesale pharmaceutical based in the United Kingdom called World Express Rx Ltd. The corner stone of Mr. Kolowich’s became the online retail sales of “Life Style” medications. These medications had never been marketed directly to consumers via the Internet, however with online consultations with licensed physicians and access to bulk medications, especially generic legal versions of these medications made in India, Mr. Kolowich became very successful. Officials later reported sales estimates of over 20 million US dollars. Mr. Kolowich found immediate financial success with what authorities later described as a vast worldwide database of customers of over 165,000 people, and annual sales approaching $21,000,000. All helping to fuel an extravagant lifestyle of global traveling, yacht and jet chartering and a modest collection of fine works of art, international real estate holdings and a vast collection of 1st growth French Bordeaux wines. By 2002, Mr. Kolowich's clientele had expanded dramatically and it included distribution and importation of the unapproved pharmaceuticals into the United States of America, he soon found himself indicted in 2004 for illegally selling unapproved medicines, importing those medicines illegally into the USA all in defiance of not operating within the guidelines of US department of Food and [...] (FDA) One of his former employees, Aaron Espiritu of San Diego CA, pawned a company computer, and a pawnshop computer cleaner discovered WorldExpressRX.com records, triggering an investigation by the FBI. Another associate of Mr. Kolowich's, Douglas Mathew Drew of Tampa Florida, was subsequently arrested entering the USA from Freeport, Bahamas with an undisclosed cache of stolen generic medications and was taken into custody, charged, and later testified against Mr. Kolowich have turned a government witness and informant. On March 23, 2004, Mr. Kolowich and his companion were arrested at San Diego International Airport returning from a ski trip to Mt Whistler Canada. Mr. Kolowich pled guilty, in April of 4, 2004, of importing and selling unapproved drugs. Being given a 51-month jail sentence, he told The Wall Street Journal that "(getting arrested) Was a big relief". Mr. Kolowich today resides in the United States and has been active in creating an awareness campaign within the pharmaceutical industry on the subject of [...] counterfeiting and the online pharmacy business. He is currently a contract pharmaceutical security consultant. He speaks regularly to Security professional all members of PSI, or Pharmaceutical Security Institute and is working with National Geographic television on a production investigating the online pharmacy trade in illegal unauthorized counterfeit pharmaceuticals.