Drugs

Man Sentenced for Misbranded Drugs

A Florida federal judge has sentenced Jonathan Cosie, of Chesterfield, VA, to two years in federal prison for introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. A Department of Justice post says Cosie pleaded guilty on 5/30/2023.

Court documents show that from about 2017 through 2020, Cosie owned HCGRX, a Florida corporation that he used to distribute misbranded drugs via the Internet. The post says he distributed multiple varieties of injectable drugs containing human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).

“FDA has approved certain prescription drugs containing HCG for the treatment of female infertility and other medical conditions,” the department says, “but has repeatedly warned consumers against the use of illicit products containing HCG for unapproved uses such as weight loss.”

The notice says Cosie obtained products containing HCG from companies in India, China, and elsewhere that did not have required FDA approvals for distribution in the U.S. He marketed the products on his Web site specifically for weight loss, it says, and made fraudulent claims to consumers that HCGRX could allow them to avoid having to obtain a prescription to purchase the drugs and that it was cooperating with “international pharmacies” to ship the products.

In reality, the government says, Cosie obtained the drugs from foreign and domestic suppliers, created counterfeit labels, relabeled the products at a Florida residence, and shipped them with syringes directly to consumers.

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