Two Israelis Sentenced for Smuggling Counterfeit Drugs from China & India to U.S.
Two Israeli citizens pleaded guilty and were sentenced for smuggling counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceuticals into the U.S., including the erectile dysfunction drug marketed as Cialis, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Benny Carmi admitted he introduced misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce, smuggled prescription drugs into the U.S., and sold counterfeit prescription drugs. Carmi was sentenced to 10 months in prison and must pay a criminal fine of $30,000 and forfeit $50,000 to the U.S. Moshe Dahan also admitted to smuggling prescription drugs into the United States. He was sentenced to one year of probation and is required to pay a $15,000 fine. Dahan paid a forfeiture of $15,000 to the U.S. The defendants are also forfeiting the Internet domain names of their illegal drug websites.
Illegally Sold $1.4M in Drugs to U.S.; Typically Imported Drugs from China and India
ICE says both men operated an Internet business in Israel that used multiple websites, including "allpillsrx.com," "newpharm.net," "pharmacy-on-line.com," "pharmacy-on-line.com," and "pharmacy-pal.com," to illegally sell large amounts of prescription drugs to U.S. purchasers. About 9,029 separate drug shipments were sent to purchasers in the United States, generating about $1,475,363 in gross proceeds.
Typically, packages containing drugs were imported to St. Louis, Mo., from China and India, with the exterior packaging falsely describing the contents of the shipments as "gifts" that had "no commercial value."
Gov’t Conducted Undercover Purchases; Some Drugs Found to be “Sub-Potent”
Carmi and Dahan were prosecuted after the government conducted a series of undercover purchases on some of the defendants' Internet websites and ordered prescription drugs and controlled substances, including the drug Meridia, without providing a valid prescription from a qualified health care professional. In response, the defendants shipped a number of drug packages to shipping addresses located in the Eastern District of Missouri containing prescription drugs.
Laboratory test results of samples of the drugs obtained through defendants' Internet websites revealed that these drugs were not genuine versions of the drugs that had been manufactured in FDA-approved drug manufacturing plants in accordance with federal law.
Moreover, some of defendants' drugs were sub-potent, containing less than the amount of active drug ingredient than what was specified in the labeling for the drugs.