Illinois Man Accused of Selling Counterfeit Drugs

An Illinois man is currently facing charges that he sold counterfeit drugs.

Wail T. Salem of Orland Park, Illinois, is accused of selling thousands of items that falsely bore the name of Pfizer Incorporated, a respected pharmaceutical company, according to the Chicago Tribune. It is believed that Salem made more than $100,000 through his alleged fraudulent activities.

Salem recently appeared at Will County Court on felony charges, claiming that he sold more than 2,000 counterfeit drug items and also that he possessed lookalike substances. He is currently being held in the Will County Adult Detention Facility because he did not pay $200,000 bail

Counterfeit drugs pose a serious health risk to consumers, as they are not controlled by a regulatory body, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The use of these fake medications can have devastating consequences, like when 2,500 Nigerian children died after they received fake meningitis vaccines in 1995.

Americans are protected against counterfeit drugs if they purchase them offline from a licensed US pharmacy, or if they purchase them online from a pharmacy that has been certified by the VIPPS program.