Martez Alando Gurley, Counterfeit Prescription Drug Trafficking, CA

Two men are going to federal prison for flooding Houston streets with fake Viagra and Cialis—counterfeit pills laced with unknown chemicals and sold to unsuspecting buyers as legitimate prescription drugs. Martez Alando Gurley, 41, of Napa, California, and Victor Lamar Coates, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were sentenced this week after admitting they trafficked more than 10,000 counterfeit tablets apiece, sourced from underground labs in China.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed down a 75-month sentence to Gurley and ordered him to pay $410,508 in restitution to Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company—the patent holders of Viagra and Cialis. Coates received 46 months behind bars and must pay $314,565 in restitution. Both men will serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.

Gurley trafficked at least 12,960 counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets from his California home, while Coates distributed at least 10,288 fake pills from Pennsylvania. Both funneled their illicit supply into the Houston market, where middlemen sold them to consumers who believed they were buying FDA-approved medications. The counterfeit pills were nearly indistinguishable from the real product, complete with packaging and trademarks mimicking those of Pfizer and Eli Lilly.

Lab tests revealed the deception ran deeper than branding. Counterfeit Viagra samples contained less than the labeled 100 mg of active ingredient. Worse, some tablets included 2-MBT—an industrial chemical unrelated to any approved medication. The fake Cialis tablets had traces of Viagra’s active ingredient but none of the actual Cialis compound, rendering them medically useless and potentially dangerous.

“When criminals introduce prescription drugs into the U.S. that are not FDA-approved, they jeopardize the public’s health,” said Special Agent in Charge Spencer E. Morrison of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those whose quest for profits places the public’s health at risk through the distribution of illegitimate drugs.”

Gurley was taken into custody immediately after sentencing and will be transferred to a federal prison facility. Coates was allowed to remain on bond and will voluntarily surrender at a later date. The FDA-OCI and Homeland Security Investigations led the probe. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Redlinger prosecuted the case.