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(Des Moines, IA) -- A Des Moines man's pleading guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead. Investigators say 46-year-old Brady Tomlinson sold injectable vitamin B12 solutions online, as weight loss drugs in violation of federal law. Tomlinson closed his business for one week, then created a new website and continued selling the products until he was arrested in 2019.
According to court documents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed Tomlinson during a December 2016 inspection that dispensing the drugs without valid prescriptions violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
“Dispensing drugs such as these without a prescription or the involvement of a medical professional endangers consumers and violates the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work hand-in-hand with the FDA to investigate and prosecute the illegal dispensing of prescription drugs.”
“Selling prescription drugs online - with no medical supervision - can cause serious harm and put consumers’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize U.S. consumers’ health and safety.”
Sentencing is scheduled for April 15, 2022.