Thank you to the DoJ

[Guest guest]

Thank you to the Department of Justice:

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Two New Jersey Dietary Supplement Firms and

Their Principals Sentenced for Criminal Contempt

WASHINGTON - New Jersey-based dietary supplement companies Quality

Formulation Laboratories Inc. (QFL) and American Sports Nutrition Inc.

(ASN), as well as their owner, Mohamed S. Desoky, and managers, Ahmad

Desoky Esq., and Desoky, were sentenced today for multiple counts

of criminal contempt of court for violating a consent decree entered by

the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on March 16,

2010, the Justice Department announced.

The defendants' businesses manufactured and distributed food products

and supplements, including many varieties of protein powder mixes sold

in health food stores, as well as other powder mixes and dietary

supplements. The defendants' products were distributed under the ASN

brand to locations throughout the United States.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. sentenced Mohamed

S. Desoky to a term of 40 months in prison, three years supervised

release and a fine of $60,000; Ahmad Desoky Esq., to a term of 34 months

in prison, three years supervised release and a fine of $12,000; and

Desoky to a term of 34 months in prison and three years supervised

release. In addition, Judge Brown ordered QFL and ASN to pay criminal

fines totaling $1 million, and placed them on probation for a period of

three years. All defendants, the individuals and the corporations,

were prohibited from doing business in the dietary supplement industry

during their periods of supervised release or probation unless they

first obtained consent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the

Court. Ahmad Desoky was barred from practicing law during his period

of supervised release. In imposing sentence, the court commented that

defendants' criminal contempt was unique in its persistence and scope.

The complaint in the civil case that led to the court order alleged that

the defendants, which included Mohamed S. Desoky, QFL and ASN,

adulterated food by manufacturing them without following the Food and

Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations regarding current good

manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements.

The complaint alleged that the defendants caused misbranding of food

because the food contained milk, a major food allergen, not declared on

the product labels. The civil complaint went on to allege that

defendants' failure to have adequate sanitizing and cleaning operations

and follow their own procedures for manufacturing products on dedicated

equipment may have led to food being contaminated with this major food

allergen by virtue of " cross-contamination " or " cross-contact " in the

manufacturing process.

The civil complaint also alleged that during an FDA inspection of the

defendant's facility in January 2009, FDA investigators observed a dead

rodent-cut in half-on a blender motor platform; a dead rodent,

surrounded by rodent excreta pellets, in an area used to store

near-finished product; and, on two occasions, a live rodent running

through the blending room.

The consent decree that settled the civil action required that

defendants shut down their manufacturing operation and not reopen there

or elsewhere without first correcting these violations and getting FDA's

approval to reopen. The criminal contempt charges alleged that Ahmad

Desoky and Desoky, with knowledge of the court's order, assisted

their father, Mohamed S. Desoky, in violating the order, and thus were

criminally liable for the violations even though they were not named as

defendants in the original civil case.

" After the FDA found egregious sanitation and manufacturing problems at

the defendants' facility, we obtained a court order requiring the

defendants to clean up their act, " said Tony West, Assistant Attorney

General of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. " Instead

of complying with that order, the defendants thumbed their nose at it

and continued distributing product. The court's appropriately stiff

sentences in this case make clear the lesson: If you jeopardize the

health and safety of the American people, we will hold you accountable. "

The petition for criminal contempt charged all five defendants with

violating the decree almost immediately upon its entry by setting up

operations at a separate location in Congers, N.Y., to which they

transported their employees and equipment. In addition, the petition

alleged that the defendants violated the decree by failing to notify FDA

of this relocation of their operations. On June 1, 2011, a jury found

all five defendants guilty of these charges.

The petition also alleged that QFL, Mohamed S. Desoky, Ahmad Desoky and

Desoky continued receiving and manufacturing operations at their

Paterson. N.J., facility despite the court's order. These defendants

were found guilty of this charge as well.

Finally, the petition alleged that QFL, Mohamed S. Desoky, and Ahmad

Desoky received and distributed product at their Paterson facility

between September 2010 and January 2011, in violation of the court's

order. The jury found these defendants guilty of this count.

Assistant Attorney General West thanked the FDA for the referral of the

civil case and the diligent investigation of the ensuing violations of

the court's order.

The prosecution of these defendants was handled by Department of

Justice, Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch Trial Attorneys

Sullivan and Runkle, and District of New Jersey Assistant

U.S. Attorney Wiener. The FDA Office of Chief Counsel Attorney

Singleton supported the matter, which was investigated

criminally by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Jersey City

Branch, and civilly by the FDA New Jersey District Office.

S. Kalman PhD, RD, FACN

Director, BD - Nutrition & Applied Clinical Trials

Miami Research Associates

6141 Sunset Drive

Suite 301

Miami, FL. 33143

Direct -

Office ext. 5109

Fax

Email: dkalman@...

Web: www.miamiresearch.com

Help Cure Crohn's & Colitis: Team Challenge

<http://www.active.com/donate/vegas11southfl/SFLDKalman>