Three FL Residents Pleaded Guilty to Importing, Making and Selling Counterfeit Medicines Online

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced all three defendants entered guilty pleas for their participation in a steroid and counterfeit prescription drug lab in Northwest Florida. Ryan Anthony Sikora, John Joseph Bush, II, and Ariel Anna Murphy are all from Chipley, FL and pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for importing, manufacturing, and distributing counterfeit drugs and anabolic steroids.

According to court documents, inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) became suspicious after determining that large quantities of counterfeit prescription drug ingredients and steroids were being shipped from China to various addresses in the southern Alabama/Northwest Florida area. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement found the illegal drug lab run by the defendants near Chipley, FL. Inside the lab, investigators discovered over 35,000 counterfeit prescription pills labeled as Viagra, Cialis, Accutane, and Clomid. Thousands of liquid vials and more than a kilogram of raw powders used to produce steroids were also found.

The defendants sold their counterfeit drugs online via their “Future Pharma” brand name, processing orders through encrypted email, and using the U.S.P.S. to send the fake pills across the U.S. Sentencings for the three defendants are scheduled on January 18, 2018. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Bodiford prosecuted this case. The following agencies’ participation made this case possible: U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Washington County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, and Chipley, Florida Police Department.