Diet Supplement Execs: Another One’s In The Clink

Judge Jack T. Camp, of the U.S. District Court, has sentenced the CEO of Hi-Tech Phamaceuticals, Jared Wheat, to 50 months in prison for illegally selling knock-off prescription drugs over the internet. He was also fined $50,000, and was required, along with the company and other defendants, to forfeit $3 million in proceeds received in the scheme. In the proceeding, the defendants admitted to operating a facility in Belize that manufactured generic versions of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Vioxx, Ambien, Zoloft, Viagra and Cialis, and selling the drugs over the internet without requiring a prescription.

A co-defendant, Sergio Oliveira, a sales associate, was sentenced to 20 months in prison and fined $20,000. The judge had previously sentenced two other Hi-Tech officials, Stephen D. Smith and Tomasz Holda, to 27 months and 16 1/2 months respectively.

Hi-Tech’s supplements include Stamina-Rx, which it claims to be a “maximum sexual stimulant,” Lipodrene, supposedly capable of “advanced appetite control and metabolic stimulation,” and Metanabol, marketed as a “revolutionary catalyst for increasing lean mass and strength.”


Sources:

MSNBC, 2/3/09

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