New Hampshire Woman Pleads Guilty to Fake Pill Smuggling
Elisane Garcia of Hooksett, New Hampshire, pled guilty to a four-count indictment charging her with smuggling goods into the U.S., selling misbranded drugs, possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute and money laundering.
Garcia paid $45,000 for thousands of pills, known as “Brazilian diet pills,” delivered to her from suppliers in Brazil. These pills contained three Schedule IV controlled substances: flouxetine and chlordiazepoxide, which are the active ingredients in Prozac and Librium, and also fenproporex, which is not approved for use in the U.S, announced the New Hampshire U.S. District Attorney.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the New Hampshire State Police and INTERPOL were all involved in the investigation. After the joint team of investigators intercepted the diet pill order, the defendant fled to Brazil, but was eventually arrested and extradited while traveling to Germany.
IRS agents civilly seized and forfeited $35,000 from the defendant’s bank accounts after she fled.
Garcia has been detained since her arrest on September 13, 2010 in Munich, Germany and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2011. The smuggling and money laundering charges both provide for a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a potential fine of $500,000.