Malik Kiell Forte, a 29-year-old from Fairburn, Georgia, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison for stealing prescription drugs worth nearly $400,000 and possessing a firearm despite being a multi-convicted felon. Forte’s criminal activities included burglarizing a warehouse and breaking into delivery vehicles outside pharmacies across metro Atlanta.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg emphasized the commitment to prosecuting those who steal prescription medications: “Criminals who steal prescription medications for profit will be identified, apprehended, and prosecuted,” he stated. FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown highlighted the broader impact of Forte’s actions: “Forte’s actions not only harmed the businesses he targeted but impacted the safety and costs for anyone who relies on these medications.”
The court heard that between March 2021 and June 2022, Forte, along with others including co-conspirator Jaquay Joseph, stole nine shipments of prescription drugs from delivery vehicles parked at various pharmacies. They also targeted a pharmaceutical distribution center in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The stolen pharmaceuticals included hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine among others.
When agents searched Forte’s home, they discovered some of the stolen pharmaceuticals as well as a Glock pistol in his bedroom—a violation given his felony status. On July 2, 2025, Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. sentenced Forte following his guilty plea on February 5, 2025.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dash A. Cooper.
For more information contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6185. Further details can be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia website at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
