Pair From India Sentenced For Selling Fake Prescription Drugs to Americans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that two men from India received their sentences for making cold calls to the United States to sell illegal versions of pharmaceutical drugs. Alok Kailashnath Jaiswal and Rahil Parvez Mir previously waived their rights to be indicted and entered guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances, to fraudulently and knowingly importing into the U.S. any merchandise contrary to law, and to introduce into interstate commerce a misbranded drug. Both men were sentenced to time served and ordered to be deported. The court also ordered the defendants to pay a $30,000 forfeiture.

As previously reported by PSM, an undercover officer made controlled purchases from the defendants on four separate occasions. During one telephone conversations with the undercover officer, Mir told him that they only sold drugs to customers in Canada and the U.S., and during a second conversation, Mir said of the 5,000 people called each day, approximately 50 people would answer their phones, only 30 would be interested making a purchase, but around 10 people would actually buy drugs from them.

FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Diversion Office in New Delhi, India conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case.