Chicago, IL – A Chicago man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for smuggling more than 26,000 counterfeit Viagra tablets into the US, a violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Fayez Al-Jabri, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy F. Atlas in the Southern District of Texas. In addition to his prison term, Al-Jabri will serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $15,066 in restitution and forfeit $47,750.
According to court documents, Al-Jabri conspired to smuggle counterfeit Viagra tablets from China into the US for further distribution. Between July 2011 and October 2012, Al-Jabri and his co-conspirator shipped thousands of counterfeit Viagra tablets from Chicago to an undercover agent in Houston, Texas.
HSI submitted all of the tablets seized during the investigation to both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer, Viagra’s manufacturer, for analysis. Both the FDA and Pfizer identified the tablets as counterfeit and misbranded Viagra.
Al-Jabri and his co-conspirator, Jamal Khattab, 49, of Katy, Texas, were indicted on August 22, 2012. Al-Jabri pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to introduce misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce and to import such goods contrary to US law; one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods; and one count of introducing counterfeit drugs into interstate commerce in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Department of State – Diplomatic Security Service and police departments in Houston and Chicago. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief for Litigation John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kebharu Smith and Jennifer Lowery of the Southern District of Texas.
Al-Jabri’s sentencing brings a close to a complex investigation that involved the smuggling of counterfeit goods and prescription drugs into the US. The case highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating transnational crime.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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