A federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Brownsville man of selling thousands of counterfeit Viagra and Cialis erectile dysfunction and other sexual enhancement pills through Facebook and Craigslist during a five-year period.
A federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Brownsville man of selling thousands of counterfeit Viagra and Cialis erectile dysfunction and other sexual enhancement pills through Facebook and Craigslist during a five-year period.
Rene Soriano is accused of conspiring with suppliers in India and Singapore to traffic counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and fraudulently and knowingly importing to sell and introduce misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead from March 2013 to May 3, 2018, the day federal authorities arrested him.
“It was the object of the conspiracy to smuggle counterfeit, unapproved and misbranded prescription drugs from India and Singapore to sell and deliver the drugs to customers in the United States,” according to the indictment.
The total appraised value of the counterfeit sexual enhancement drugs Soriano is accused of illegally peddling is $112,597.16, according to the criminal complaint.
The counterfeit medication he’s charged with selling on multiple Facebook pages, including the popular La Pulga Online, was addressed from Chinmay Overseas, according to the criminal complaint.
The investigation into Soriano began in November 2017, when Homeland Security Investigations, in coordination with the United States Postal Inspection Service, noticed suspicious packages being delivered to three Brownsville addresses associated with Soriano.
The Food and Drug Administration, the Intellectual Property Rights National Coordination Center and private companies also joined the investigation regarding the selling of misbranded and unapproved counterfeit pharmaceutical products to customers in the United States via the phone and internet.
Throughout the investigation, authorities seized multiple packages destined for Soriano’s addresses; photographed Soriano receiving packages; analyzed multiple Facebook pages associated with Soriano and Craigslist advertisements he allegedly posted; and undercover agents successfully negotiated and purchased sexual enhancement medications from Soriano, according to authorities.
The indictment also accuses Soriano with three counts of introducing misbranded drugs without adequate directions for use into interstate commerce; of engaging in wholesale distribution of prescription drugs without being licensed by the State of Texas; of knowingly and intentionally trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals; and two counts of fraudulently importing, selling and transporting misbranded drugs from India contrary to federal law.
He is scheduled for arraignment June 7.
A federal magistrate judge granted Soriano a $50,000 bond with a $2,000 cash deposit May 9 after his arrest, court records indicate.
