Counterfeit Drug Manufacturing Trio from Florida Sentenced

By Eric Gaba (Sting - fr:Sting) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ryan Anthony Sikora was sentenced to 3 years and 5 months in prison, while co-conspirators Ariel Anna Murphy and John Joseph Bush II were sentenced to a year and eight months, respectively.

According to the DOJ, the investigation started with the efforts of United States Postal Inspectors, who discovered that large volumes of steroid and counterfeit drug ingredients were being shipped from China to locations in Southern Alabama and Northwest Florida. The trio produced counterfeit medications using large-volume pill presses, and marketed the drugs via the brand name “Future Pharma.”

The following agencies investigated this case: The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Washington County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, and the Chipley, Florida Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Bradley Bodiford prosecuted this case.