Gujarati jailed for 41 months for selling fake weight loss drugs in US

(PTI) Washington, Ta. Saturday, February 20, 2021

A 37-year-old former executive of Gujarati descent has been sentenced by an American court to 41 months in prison for defrauding people by concealing the true nature of a popular workout supplement. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Perrak Shah.

According to documents filed in the case, Sitesh Patel, a resident of Irvine, California, played a key role in the production of the workout weightless supplement, known as Jacquard and Oxylit Pro. The drug was marketed by Dallas-based US Plabs.

Patel and his associates, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to marketing drugs under the false name in interstate trade, admitted that they imported drugs with false and misleading labels to escape the clutches of the law and divert attention from the regulatory body. Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah said manufacturers of dietary supplements should not be allowed to mix unverified ingredients into their products and mislead people.

Earlier, the court had directed Patel's company SK Laboratories was ordered to deposit 60 6 million. In addition to the 41-month jail sentence, a one-year bail was also granted. A Dallas federal grand jury ruled in 2015 that Patel and his associates sold the drug without examining whether it was safe to use.