The Justice Department said that Sitesh Patel and several of his co-defendants admitted that they imported substances with false and misleading labeling of products.
According to officials, a federal judge in Texas sentenced an Indian American pharmaceutical executive to 41 months in prison for fraudulent sales of workout supplements. On Friday, acting North Texas Federal Prosecutor Prerak Shah announced the sentencing of Sitesh Patel, 37, on charges of conspiracy concerning the misbranding of supplements. As per the Justice Department, Patel and several of his co-defendants admitted that they imported substances with false and misleading labeling of products before the Texas Northern District Court in Dallas.
Court documents indicate that Patel, who was the Vice President of SK Laboratories played a significant role in developing and manufacturing popular weight loss and workout supplements named Jack3d and OxyElite Pro. Patel admitted to a misbranding charge that the Justice Department said linked in part to OxyElite Pro, which was recalled in 2013 after a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into whether the supplement caused liver injuries in consumers.
Shah said: “We are proud to hold this defendant accountable for lying to the public about ingredients that had the potential to cause them harm.”
In 2015, Patel and others were charged with selling some of their products without evaluating whether they would be safe to use by a federal grand jury – a citizens’ panel that determines if there is a prima facie case.
Federal Judge Sam A Lindsay sentenced Patel. Judge Lindsay had previously ordered SK Laboratories to forfeit $6 million in connection with the case. Earlier, the court has sentenced various terms of imprisonment for four people who were involved with USPlabs, which distributed the products.
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