A federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Brownsville man of selling thousands of counterfeit Viagra and Cialis erectile dysfunction pills through Facebook and Craigslist over 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 pills through Facebook and Craigslist over 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.
The Food and Drug Administration has made multiple seizures in multiple seizures from Chinmay Overseas for non-approved medications, according to the criminal complaint.
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 on June 7.
A federal magistrate judge granted Soriano a $50,000 bond with a $2,000 cash deposit on May 9 after his arrest, court records indicate.
