{"id":14350,"date":"2016-03-21T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T16:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=14350"},"modified":"2014-03-21T09:00:37","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T16:00:37","slug":"north-carolina-man-pleads-guilty-to-selling-bogus-ed-drugs-m0227","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/north-carolina-man-pleads-guilty-to-selling-bogus-ed-drugs-m0227\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Bogus ED Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When apprehended, people selling fake Viagra can face serious prison time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>When a drug is as popular as Viagra, unscrupulous people try to make money off counterfeit knock-offs.<\/p>\n

Viagra is believed to be the most counterfeited drug<\/a> ever, and US Customs and Border Protection officials know that whenever they intercept a large shipment of counterfeit drugs, they can expect some of it to be fake Viagra. You might think it would be easy to look at a \u201clittle blue pill\u201d and be able to tell it was bogus, but Viagra counterfeiters make their products look remarkably like the real thing. In fact, even Pfizer scientists<\/a> can\u2019t accurately predict if a pill is fake until they break it down and determine its chemical composition.<\/p>\n

But while some counterfeiters make drugs that look just like Viagra, others make \u201cherbal\u201d remedies they claim are \u201call natural,\u201d yet actually contain sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. A North Carolina man recently pleaded guilty in federal court of doing just that.<\/p>\n

North Carolina Man\u2019s Twist on the Counterfeit Drug Scam<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kamran Rezapour of Ashe County, North Carolina, was accused of defrauding consumers of almost $5 million by selling \u201call natural supplements\u201d containing sildenafil<\/a>. Rezapour pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and two counts of drug misbranding, and could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison and fined $250,000 for each of the four charges he faced. He has already agreed to forfeit approximately $1.5 million in funds, gold, and silver coins as part of his plea agreement.<\/p>\n

The problem with Rezapour\u2019s \u201csupplements\u201d was that they actually contained unlisted \u201cingredients similar to prescription drugs such as Viagra,\u201d including sildenafil and a chemical analog to sildenafil called noracetildenafil. Rezapour smuggled the noracetildenafil into the US from China by falsely labeling it as \u201cpaint products,\u201d \u201ccare products,\u201d and \u201cgifts.\u201d He distributed his products nationwide.<\/p>\n

Drugs Claiming to Be \u201cAll Natural\u201d ED Treatments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2001, sales of \u201cnatural Viagra,\u201d \u201cherbal Viagra,\u201d and other supplements claiming to improve sexual functioning have become a $400 billion per year industry<\/a>. Many of these so-called supplements work because they actually contain unregulated versions of substances like sildenafil. People tend to think \u201cherbal\u201d or \u201cnatural\u201d products are inherently safe, and may take them when they have health problems that make ED drugs like Viagra contraindicated. If a man taking nitrates or other drugs that prevent him from taking Viagra were to take one of these supplements, he could experience a life-threatening drop in blood pressure.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The labels \u201cherbal\u201d and \u201call natural\u201d do not guarantee safety.<\/figcaption><\/figure> James Neal-Kababick of Flora Research Laboratories in Oregon told NBC news that approximately 90% of the samples he has analyzed of \u201cnatural\u201d or \u201cherbal\u201d ED supplements contain forms of patented pharmaceuticals, and some contain dosages much higher than what\u2019s found in the genuine prescription drugs. The AP has researched emergency room visit data and found visits attributed to these supplements in at least four states, and public health officials believe adverse events are grossly underreported due to patients not being forthright about what they consumed, and doctors rarely asking about the supplements people take.<\/p>\n

Drugs Claiming to Be Viagra When They\u2019re Not<\/strong><\/p>\n

People selling counterfeit Viagra or other ED drugs are frequently caught and prosecuted, but the market is so huge it\u2019s difficult for law enforcement to keep up. Here are just a few cases that have already made news this year:<\/p>\n