A North Carolina man who owns a sport supplement company was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to selling unapproved steroid-like drugs, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Brian Michael Parks, 47, the owner of MedFit Sarmacuticals Inc., admitted in a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia that he and his company had unlawfully distributed drugs that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Jun. 2017 to Sept. 2019, according to a DOJ statement.
Park and his company had unlawfully distributed and advertised certain drugs such as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs), Ostarine (MK-2866), Ligandrol (LGD-4033) and Testolone (RAD-140). The FDA has not approved these drugs as sport or dietary supplements. (RELATED: Border Patrol Arrests Man Trying To Smuggle More Than $335,000 Worth Of Cocaine)
Drugs like SARMs are synthetic chemicals that are usually found in performance-enhancing products posing as dietary or sport supplements. The use of SARMs can cause unintended life-threatening consequences as they are unapproved drugs and not intended for use as dietary supplements, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) website.
Owner of Sport Supplement Company Sentenced for Unlawful Distribution of Steroid-Like Drugshttps://t.co/7YqWdt4a4x
— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) February 16, 2021
Parks admitted that he and his company were not only guilty of illegally distributing drugs but also that he had intentions to mislead customers and defraud the FDA by leaving out ingredients on the labels of products. Parks also falsely advertised MedFitRX products as “dietary supplements” or “sports supplements.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division explained that by bypassing the FDA’s required drug approval process Parks was putting “consumers at risk.”
“The department will continue to work with the FDA to investigate and prosecute the illegal distribution of supplements that contain dangerous ingredients,” Boynton said.
“When Parks marketed drugs masqueradings as dietary supplements that had not been approved by the FDA, he sidestepped important safeguards to protect the public, and committed a serious crime,” explained Daniel P. Bubar, the Acting U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Virginia. “Our office will continue to closely partner with the FDA to ensure safety and effectiveness in our drug supply,” Bubar promised.