Windfall in forfeiture from Lake County drug case

Lake County officials have reaped more than three-quarters of a million dollars in forfeitures from a Long Grove pharmacist who pleaded guilty to illegal drug sales.

Jagga Grandhi agreed to surrender a total of $780,000 as part of his plea agreement in a case in which he was accused of selling drugs illegally in his place of business.

It is the largest seizure of assets from a drug defendant in the county's history, officials said.

Grandhi, the former owner of RX Tower Pharmacy, 15 Tower Court Road in Gurnee, was arrested in November as a result of a weeks-long investigation by the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group.

MEG Special Agent Rod Chesser said Grandhi was selling powerful painkillers to customers of the store who did not have prescriptions for the drugs.

Undercover agents walked into the store on four occasions between September and November and purchased Vicodin, Percocet and morphine pills, Chesser said.

When Grandhi was arrested Nov. 19, prosecutors moved to seize all of his assets in 33 accounts held by 15 financial institutions, Chesser said.

Money and property held by alleged drug dealers is subject to forfeiture to the government if it can be linked to illegal activity, Assistant State's Attorney Suzanne Willett said.

In Grandhi's case, she said, Grandhi was taking the proceeds from his illegal drug sales and depositing it in accounts that contained legitimate income.

Investigators conducted a money-laundering investigation, Willett said, and determined that at least $780,000 in assets Grandhi had could not have come from legal transactions.

Grandhi, of the 8000 block of Orchard Commons in Long Grove, pleaded guilty to a single count of delivery of a controlled substance Monday and was placed on probation for two years.

As part of that disposition, he surrendered to the state $735,000 in cash and a 2007 Lexus valued at $45,000.

Willett said the money will be placed into a fund that supports drug prevention education and drug prosecutions.

Grandhi also lost his pharmacist license as a result of the guilty plea, Willett said.

Cases against two customers of the now-shuttered pharmacy who police said bought drugs while they were waiting to arrest Grandhi are still pending.

Steven Moran, 26, of the 200 block of Grand Avenue in Fox Lake, and Lisa Boope, 46, of the 300 block of Forest Glen Drive in Round Lake Park, were arrested as undercover agents infiltrated the store to arrest Grandhi.

Both face up to seven years in prison if convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Boope is scheduled to appear in court June 28 and Moran's next court date is July 23.