Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Counterfeit Cancer Drugs

Tuesday, Hazim Gaber, 22 of Edmonton, Canada, pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit cancer drugs over the internet. Gaber admitted selling what he falsely claimed was the experimental cancer drug sodium dichloroacetate, also known as DCA, to at least 65 victims in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands between October and November 2007. According to the plea agreement, Gaber charged $23.68 for 10 grams of the purported DCA, $45.52 for 20 grams or $110.27 for 100 grams, plus shipping.

DCA is an experimental cancer drug not yet approved for use in the United States or Canada. DCA is an odorless, colorless, inexpensive, relatively non-toxic experimental cancer drug that is highly sought after by cancer patients. A doctor at the University of Alberta in Canada published a report in early 2007 summarizing the results of a study, which showed that DCA caused regression in several cancers, including lung cancer, breast cancer, and cancerous brain tumors.

Gaber sold the counterfeits through a website named DCAdvice.com, which falsely claimed that it was the only authorized representative to sell DCA and was affiliated with the University of Alberta. Further lab analysis determined that the substances sold contained starch, dextrin, dextrose or lactose, and contained no DCA.

Gaber faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on each of the five counts of wire fraud to which he pleaded guilty. Gaber also faces maximum fines of $250,000 per count. As part of the plea agreement, Gaber agreed to forfeit or cancel any website, domain name or Internet services account related to this fraud scheme.


XStream System applauds all the regulatory and enforcement agencies involved in the capture of this counterfeiter: Criminal Division’s Computer Crime, Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Sexton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. the Edmonton Police Service, the Alberta Justice Office of Special Prosecutions-Edmonton, the Competition Bureau of Canada, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission and the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud, The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the Phoenix FBI Cyber Squad.

To view the Dept of Justice Press Release visit: www.justice.gov.

To view information regarding counterfeit detection solutions visit: www.xstreamsystems.net.