Barry Clint Wright, Selling Deadly Weight Loss Drug, Florida 2019

ORLANDO, FL - A North Carolina man has been sentenced to the maximum statutory sentence of seven years in federal prison for selling a deadly weight loss drug to consumers across the United States and abroad. Barry Clint Wright (38, Monroe, NC) was sentenced on November 1, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron.

According to court documents, Wright sold 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP), a chemical substance that causes rapid weight loss but is associated with a high rate of adverse effects, including cataracts, hyperthermia, tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, and death. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared DNP to be extremely dangerous and not fit for human consumption in 1938.

Between December 2015 and May 2018, Wright sold DNP to consumers throughout the United States and in several foreign countries as a weight loss drug. He purchased bulk DNP and encapsulated it into ingestible pills, creating several websites to market the pills. Wright did not label the pills as DNP, nor did he include any directions or warnings regarding the use of the drug when he mailed it to consumers.

Three of Wright's consumers died during or shortly after their DNP use. The official cause of death for two of these victims, 21-year-old V.G. (East London, UK) and 46-year-old J.P. (Marietta, GA), was DNP toxicity. The other victim, 26-year-old C.W. (Lake Mary, FL), died from cardiac arrhythmia, which can be caused by the use of DNP.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.

Wright pleaded guilty to introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce, introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, and introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead.

Defendant Name: Barry Clint Wright

Exact Criminal Charges: Introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce, introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, and introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead.

City and State: Orlando, Florida

Exact Date: November 1, 2019 (sentencing)

Sentence or Outcome: Seven years in federal prison

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/north-carolina-man-sentenced-7-years-federal-prison-selling-deadly-weight-loss-drug