Bradenton man sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit, unapproved and misbranded drugs

TAMPA -- A 72-year-old Bradenton man was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison for conspiracy to smuggle misbranded and counterfeit drugs into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

From July 2009 through Sept. 25, 2015, court documents state Robert Lohr operated a business in Bradenton known as "Canadian American Drug Club" or "American Drug Club of Bradenton."

According to a release, the business sold and distributed illegally smuggled prescription drugs, including Viagra, Cialis, Achiphex and Lipitor, as well as other drug products falsely represented as "herbal," which contained active prescription ingredients.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida said Lohr generated more than $1 million in sales of these misbranded and counterfeit drugs. At no time was Lohr ever licensed as a pharmacist, a drug importer or a drug wholesaler, according to the release, and neither was American Drug Club a licensed pharmacy, drug importer or wholesaler.

Between March 21, 2014, and Sept. 15, 2015, the release states several undercover purchases of misbranded, unapproved, and counterfeit prescription drugs were made from Lohr's business. Prescriptions for Viagra and Cialis were filled and mailed from the business, along with counterfeit drugs made in China. Other prescription drugs, such as Achiphex and Lipitor, were filled by foreign pharmacies with foreign drugs, which had been approved for the U.S. market, according to the release.

According to the release, Lohr also sold several herbal Viagra products without prescriptions, which had been illegally smuggled from China. These products contained sildenafil citrate, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Viagra. Several of the packages addressed to Lohr's business, containing the counterfeit drugs, were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Lohr and the court also entered an order forfeiting Lohr's interest in approximately $926,466, the proceeds of the conspiracy, according to the release.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Holly Gershow, according to the release.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Bradenton man sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit, unapproved and misbranded drugs ."