Missouri Man Sentenced for Counterfeit Drug Crime

A St. Louis, Missouri resident, Mark Hughes, 47, was sentenced to four years in prison by U.S. District Court  on February 7th, 2011, four selling thousands of counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills.  

Hughes ordered counterfeit versions of ED drugs online from China and India, and sold them via an illegal and unlicsensed pharmacy and by word of mouth, said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bodenhausen in court, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Hughes last shippment of 1,000 pills was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2009 and delivered by investigators.  Following a search of Hughes' residence, he admitted buying approximately 11,000 pills and selling them for $5 a piece, roughly one-third of the wholesale price of the legitimate medication, reported the Associated Press.

The fake drugs Hughes was selling were tested for authenticity and some did not contain the true drug at all, and some contained an insufficient dose of the drug than the advertised prescription, said Attorney Bodenhausen in court.