A man who tricked the United States government into buying old Chinese ammunition is suing Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, blaming his compulsive behavior on the defendants’ drug Abilify.

Caught in a similar plot to the movie War Dogs, this man had reportedly experienced compulsive behavior while selling the ammunition and spending millions of dollars. Plaintiff Efraim D. is suing the pharmaceutical giants for his erratic and compulsive behavior, alleging their medication Abilify was to blame for his actions.

Efraim is filing a federal lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies including Bristol-Myers and Otsuka, alleging Abilify had caused him to develop serious addictions that fueled his spending and compulsive behavior.

According to the Abilify lawsuit, Efraim “began compulsively gambling, spending, and experiencing hypersexuality” after starting the medication.

Efraim had began taking the medication in August 2008, which reportedly when his War Dogs scheme came to a halt and was discovered. Federal prosecutors then charged Efraim with 71 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Overview of Abilify Compulsive Behavior Allegations

According to federal prosecutors, Efraim and two friends from Miami, David P. and Alex P., caught the attention of the federal government by allegedly conning the Department of Defense into contracting multimillion dollar deals to sell old Chinese ammunition to the Afghan Army.

They had allegedly decided to sell old Chinese ammunition to keep their costs low, which was bought in Albania before being shipped to Afghanistan. However the arrangement fell through, which reportedly caused Efraim’s life to become even more unpredictable and erratic.

Efraim was reportedly caught a second time trying to sell ammunition while out on bond in 2011, resulting in another gunrunning charge and a four year prison sentence.

Efraim recently released an autobiography, which was criticized by his Miami friends, and filed legal action against Warner Bros. for allegedly using unpublished parts of his manuscript for making War Dogs.

Overall, Efraim claims that his erratic and compulsive behaviors were to blame on the Abilify medication, and that each of his stresses can be attributed to other sources. While Abilify works by leveling the brain’s serotonin and dopamine chemicals, this treatment mechanism has reportedly resulted in erratic behavior.

The FDA recently announced that Abilify can cause patients to experience compulsive behavior like spending or gambling, and that any adverse side effects should be reported to their physicians. Like many other patients, Efraim alleges the pharmaceutical companies failed to warn him against compulsive behavior or other Abilify side effects.

Bristol Myers and Otsuka have been repeatedly criticized for failing to warn the United States market, when the European market received much earlier warning.