On the day he was scheduled to go on trial in federal court in Los Angeles, an Upland resident pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit Viagra tablets that he imported from China and manufactured at an Azusa laboratory.
Frank Fu Jen Huang, 58, pleaded guilty this morning to seven felony charges. Appearing before United States District Judge Manuel Real, Huang admitted guilt to conspiracy, four counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods and two counts of manufacturing and selling counterfeit drugs.
By pleading guilty today, Huang admitted that he imported counterfeit Viagra tablets that were manufactured in China. Huang used "maildrops" and friends' addresses to receive the shipments, four of which were intercepted by Customs officials. The four intercepted shipments together contained more than 30,000 tablets. In 2000 and 2001, Huang sold some of the bogus product to an associate, David Srulevitch, who then resold the fake Viagra.
After the shipments were seized, Huang and Srulevitch conspired in 2002 to manufacture counterfeit Viagra. In late 2002 and early 2003, Huang and Srulevitch manufactured approximately 700,000 fake Viagra tablets.
The total value of the counterfeit Viagra in this case is more than $5.65 million.
Huang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Real on March 28. At that time, he faces a maximum possible sentence of 51 years in federal prison.
Srulevitch, 55, of Walnut, pleaded guilty on September 29 to a misdemeanor charge of selling a counterfeit drug. Srulevitch, who faces up to one year in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Real on January 31.
This case was investigated by Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigation and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Elena Duarte
(213) 894-8611
Release No. 05-001
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