Security News: Retired New Jersey Doctor Convicted at Trial of Selling Toxic Chemical as Weight-loss Drug

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that William Merlino, 85, of Mays Landing, NJ, was convicted at trial of selling misbranded drugs online, arising from his scheme to sell a toxic industrial chemical as a weight-loss drug which he manufactured in a lab in his home.

In December 2019, the defendant was charged with one count of introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce in connection with operating a business through which he packaged and sold Dinitriophenol (DNP) for human consumption from at least November 2017 until March 2019. In the 1930s, before the law required drugs to be proven safe before they were marketed, DNP was used as a weight-loss drug despite significant negative side effects, including dehydration, cataracts, liver damage, and death. The chemical has never been approved for human consumption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but has a variety of industrial/commercial uses, such as herbicides, dyes, and wood preservatives. Using Twitter to advertise, eBay to sell, and email to communicate with clients, Merlino earned approximately $54,000 from clients in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. through the sale of this drug. During trial, a witness from the shipping service the defendant used to ship the drug to customers testified that they referred to Merlino among their colleagues as ‘the yellow man,’ due to the fact that every time he would bring in a package to ship, he would have yellow dust from the chemical on his skin, nails and clothes.

After a year-long investigation by the FDA, investigators served a search warrant at the defendant’s residence, where they found bulk DNP, packaging and encapsulating materials, and a pill press. Subsequently, while awaiting trial on this charge, Merlino faked a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in order to attempt to avoid trial; the jury heard evidence that the defendant altered a doctor’s letter and his medical records. As a result, the defendant is now separately facing obstruction of justice charges related to these fraudulent submissions to the court.

“The United States sets standards for the foods and drugs we ingest in order to keep American consumers and patients safe,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “The defendant knowingly skirted our country’s regulations by marketing an unsafe chemical to people hoping for a quick and easy solution. This scheme put many people’s health and safety at risk. We urge everyone to refrain from ingesting DNP for any reason.”

“The distribution of misbranded, unapproved and dangerous drugs in the U.S. marketplace puts consumers’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public health.”

“The Postal Service has no interest in being the unwitting accomplice to anyone using the U.S. Mail to distribute contraband or other harmful substances,” said Damon Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. “One of the Inspection Service’s key objectives is to rid the mail of illegal and dangerous substances that at best fleece our fellow citizens, and at worst, cause serious harm. William Merlino is no different than the snake oil salesmen from a century ago. Thanks to hard work of the Inspectors, Special Agents from the FDA and an Assistant United States Attorney’s Office, a jury saw through Merlino’s lies and held him accountable.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, U. S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan Burnes

Security News: Fairmont man sentenced for his role in a drug conspiracy

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Nathaniel Lee Williams, of Fairmont, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 60 months of incarceration for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.

Williams, also known as “Sticks,” 64, pleaded guilty in August 2021 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Five Grams or more of Methamphetamine.” Williams admitted to having 37.43 grams of methamphetamine, also known as “crystal” or “ice,” in August 2018 in Marion County. As a part of the plea agreement, Williams also admitted that he sold more than a half of a gram of fentanyl during three separate buys in July 2020.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Three Rivers Drug Task Force and the Fairmont Police Department investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/west-virginia-and-detroit-residents-indicted-drug-trafficking-operation

Security News: Tyler County woman admits to mail fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Margaret Ann Moffitt, of Sistersville, West Virginia, has admitted to mail fraud, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.

Moffitt, 63, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Mail Fraud.” Moffitt stole money from the estate of someone in the amount of $156,744.87. As the executor of the estate, she made cash withdrawals and endorsed checks to be mailed to people not associated with the estate in any way. She then caused checks to be mailed to the beneficiaries of the state, knowing the funds were no longer in the account. She stopped payments on those checks because she knew the funds were gone. The crimes occurred from August 2019 to December 2020 in Tyler and Wetzel Counties.

Moffitt faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danae DeMasi-Lemon is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Wet Virginia State Police and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Tyler County investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.

Security News: Inmate sentenced for threat charge

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Shawn L. Price, an inmate at Federal Corrections Institution Gilmer, was sentenced today to 60 months of incarceration for a threat charge, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.

Price, 42, pleaded guilty in May 2022 to one count of “Transmitting Threatening Communications in Interstate Commerce.” Price threatened someone by phone in November 2021. According to the indictment, the threat included breaking the subject’s neck and torturing the subject.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Bauer prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Prisons investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

Security News: Goochland Powhatan Community Services Agrees to Settle Americans with Disabilities Act Complaint

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The United States Attorney’s Office announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Goochland Powhatan Community Services (GPCS), which is the Community Service Board and local government mental health agency for Goochland and Powhatan Counties.

The settlement agreement resolves allegations that GPCS failed to furnish sign language interpreting services during multiple consequential and complex interactions with an individual who is deaf during a 33-month period, including monthly interactions when GPCS personnel were supposed to assess the individual for, among other things, previously unidentified risks, injuries, needs, or other changes in status, and the individual was supposed to have an opportunity to provide meaningful input and feedback about the services being provided. In Virginia, Community Service Boards, like GPCS, provide a continuum of community-based education, prevention, crisis intervention, counseling and rehabilitation to individuals, families and groups in need of mental health, intellectual and developmental disability, and/or substance use disorder services, including support coordination services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Entities covered by the ADA, such as state and local government agencies, are required to furnish appropriate auxiliary aid or services, including sign language interpreter services, when providing to people with communication disabilities. Ensuring that such services are provided is especially important for communication-intensive programs that human and social service providers offer to the public.

To resolve this complaint, GPCS agreed to adopt new ADA policies. These policies will make their services accessible to individuals with communication disabilities, including those who require the services of a sign language interpreter, by requiring GPCS to designate an ADA Administrator who will be responsible for ensuring the agency’s compliance with the ADA; requiring GPCS to enter into agreements with sign language interpreting service providers to provide their services to individuals who need them; and requiring GPCS to provide training for its personnel on the ADA’s effective communication requirements.

This resolution is particularly significant because Community Service Boards in Virginia are essential to ensuring that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are able to receive community-based services and be integrated into their communities, and individuals who are deaf are entitled to have access to such services.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The civil claims settled by this ADA agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA including Effective Communication, a Business Brief on Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings and ADA Update: A Primer for State and Local Governments. For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

2022 marks the ADA’s 32nd anniversary. The Justice Department continues to advance the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, integration, full participation, inclusion, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. Through its enforcement and technical assistance tools, the Justice Department strives to eliminate unlawful discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.