Feds in Pittsburgh move to forfeit millions from companies selling unapproved drugs

The U.S. attorney’s office has moved to forfeit more than $10 million seized in November from the bank accounts of companies that sold unapproved selective androgen receptor modulators and kratom.

In a civil forfeiture action filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, prosecutors targeted these companies across the country: Proven Peptides, Sarmsx, Coastline Kratom, Kratom Crazy, Best Kratom, Absorb Health and Peak Nootropics.

Proven Peptides and Sarmsx sold selective androgen receptor modulators, or SARMs, to customers nationwide, including Western Pennsylvania. SARMs are synthetic chemicals that mimic the effects of testosterone and other steroids and are used to build muscle mass. The Food and Drug Administration has linked them to liver toxicity and the potential risk for heart attack and stroke. Coastline Kratom Kratom Crazy and Best Kratom sold kratom, a plant native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea consumers use to treat pain, anxiety, depression and opioid addiction but the FDA has not approved. The FDA has issued numerous warnings about the “serious risks” of using kratom.

In 2019, the agency warned about contamination of products from salmonella and high levels of heavy metals.

“Despite our warnings, companies continue to sell this dangerous product and make deceptive medical claims that are not backed by science or any reliable scientific evidence,” acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said at the time.

The other two companies named in the complaint, Absorb Health and Peak Nootropics, sold products “styled as nootropics,” which were purported to enhance brain function and memory and reduce anxiety, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Prosecutors said none of the versions sold by the various companies have been approved by the FDA. The U.S. attorney’s office said between 2016 and 2020, credit card companies used by the sellers had policies against allowing their services to be used for the sale of SARMs, kratom and some nootropics. But the sellers of the unapproved substances wanted to accept credit cards. So to circumvent the controls, they made transactions for their products appear goods and to be services, for authorized prosecutors “If said. those credit card companies had known the true nature of the transactions, they would not have allowed their products, services, and property to be used in connection with them,” the forfeiture filing said. Funds held by the companies in various banks were seized on Nov. 5, 2020, following an investigation by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. The most money seized from any one account was $5.8 million held by Coastline Kratom, a North Carolina company, at Wells Fargo Bank. The forfeiture action requests an order turning all of the seized money over to the U.S.