Arizona man pleads guilty in drug misbranding scheme

An Arizona man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in a scheme to smuggle misbranded drugs into the U.S.

Jeremy Brooks, 31, of Chino Valley, Ariz., admitted that between January 2016 and May 2018 he conspired with others to obtain unapproved drugs in bulk from overseas suppliers in China and elsewhere for the purpose of pressing them into pills and distributing them in the U.S., including Western Pennsylvania.

A co-conspirator, Justin Ash of Murrieta, Calif., had previously pleaded guilty in the same scheme.

The pair sold the drugs through their internet business, Domestic RCS.

The website, www.domesticrcs.com, advertised clonazolam, diclazepam, flubromazolam and etizolam — a class of anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines that carry a risk of addiction and fatal overdose, especially when combined with other drugs.

The conspirators said on the website that the substances were for “research purposes,” Mr. Brooks admitted that he knew that most customers bought the drugs for their own use.

Mr. Brooks, Mr. Ash and others acting at their direction communicated directly to customers about the effects of the drugs when taken for personal use.

Mr. Brooks also admitted that he and Mr. Ash caused their suppliers to ship drugs to multiple addresses and in small quantities to avoid detection by the FDA and U.S. Customs. Some of the addresses were in Western Pennsylvania. Court information for Mr. Ash indicates that four shipments were delivered to an address in Western Pennsylvania in October 2017.

As part of his plea, Mr. Brooks agreed to forfeit $106,000 in cash seized in the investigation.