FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Illinois Man Sentenced for Smuggling Counterfeit Goods and Drugs into the U.S.
An Illinois man, who previously pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods and introducing counterfeit drugs into interstate commerce in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, was sentenced today to serve 41 months in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Brian Moskowitz of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
Fayez Al-Jabri, 45, of Chicago, Illinois, 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 ordered to pay $15,066 in restitution and forfeit $47,750.
According to court documents, Al-Jabri conspired to smuggle more than 26,000 counterfeit Viagra tablets from China into the United States for further distribution. As part of that conspiracy, 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 Jamal Khattab, 49, of Katy, Texas, were indicted on Aug. 22, 2012. On March 21, 2014, 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 U.S. 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. Khattab pleaded guilty on Dec. 3, 2013, to the same charges, and his sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 14, 2014.
This matter was investigated by 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.
