CEO of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals sentenced to 4 years for selling Knock-off Drugs

Jared Wheat, the CEO and founder of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals was charged $50,000 and sentenced to 50 months in prison for illegally selling prescription drugs online. He distributed fake versions of a variety of medications which included Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Vioxx, Zoloft, Viagra, and Cialis, which he ultimately sold over the Internet without requiring prescriptions.

Hi-Tech Parmaceuticals is located in Georgia and is known for their herbal supplements which are distributed to a variety of American retailers and convenience stores nationwide. Hi-Tech’s most popular products include Stamina-Rx, which it describes as a "maximum sexual stimulant," Lipodrene, "for advanced appetite control and metabolic stimulation," and Metanabol, a "revolutionary catalyst for increasing lean mass and strength.

By accepting a plea bargain, a variety of other charges against him were dropped. These included such charges as racketeering, blackmail and murder conspiracies, and for spiking supplements with ephedrine alkaloids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned ephedrine alkaloid use in 2004 after finding that it has potential for dangerous effects on the heart.

Also as part of the plea, said MSNBC, the defendants admitted to operating a manufacturing facility—described as filthy—in Belize in which they produced generic versions of a variety of medications such as Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Vioxx, Zoloft, Viagra, and Cialis, which they ultimately sold over the Internet without requiring prescriptions.

Apparently, reported MSNBC, Wheat conspired to murder an FDA agent and to blackmail a former assistant U.S. attorney general. And, while the allegations were made based on information provided by confidential informants, the charge was dropped in plea bargaining talks.

If the leadership of a national known manufacturer who distributes nationwide could instigate distribution of fake products, how can the public be protected?

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